Skip the Superman reboot and welcome more People of Steel

There’s a new Superman movie in the works from J.J. Abrams, and at the moment it doesn’t sound like Henry Cavill is attached to it. The news was initially misleading; while it noted that talented journalist and comic book writer Ta-Nehisi Coates was attached, it suggested that the movie would be a reboot but it sounds like Coates and Abrams have very exciting plans for a new Superman story to be told, and it’s one that doesn’t exclude Cavill’s return as Clark Kent.

With the news of Coates and Abrams working together on a new Superman movie, Warner Bros has a tremendous opportunity to create a very fulfilling, very diverse universe for Superman and other Kryptonians, paving the way for People of Steel to have their own cinematic universe.

Here’s the thing: There are many Kryptonians out there, even though Clark Kent’s Superman is always referred to as the Last Son of Krypton. There is Jon Kent (who becomes Superman in DCeased), Connor Kent, Jor-El (who is still alive in some circles), Kara Danvers as Supergirl, Calvin Ellis, Val Zod, General Zod and the beloved Krypto the Dog.

After eight decades of worldbuilding at DC Comics, Superman’s history and the people in his inner circles have grown by leaps and bounds (pun intended). And thanks to the Multiverse, there are other versions of Superman to explore, too.

Coates could do something very special with the Man of Steel. The foundation has been laid with the creation of two beloved Black characters who become Superman: Calvin Ellis and Val-Zod. Should Coates move forward with one of their stories – or create an entirely new character – there’s still room for a future where Clark Kent (Cavill, or anyone else in the role) could interact with another Superman and it would be epic.

There can be more than one Superman, and there should be many Superman stories

The great divide between Warner Bros’ cinematic vision for DC Comics characters and the stories that DC’s talented team of writers have created over the years is unfortunate.

Warner Bros is very protective of certain characters. It’s why Gotham had Jeremiah Valeska instead of a proper Joker (even though Cameron Monaghan’s Valeska is one of the best Jokers seen in recent years) and why there have been no Batman sightings in Gotham City save for the last few moments of the Gotham finale. Even Batwoman had to create a plausible story for Batman’s absence when adding the character could have been so incredible. Titans has a Bruce Wayne, but the Bat has yet to make an appearance and probably never will.

However, throughout comic book canon there are other people who take on the role of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, and their stories should be told.

Calvin Ellis is a character created by Grant Morrison and Doug Mahnke for Final Crisis (2009). Not only is he Superman, but he’s also an Obama-esque President of the United States. Imagine seeing the most influential politician on the world stage with Superman’s abilities.

On the other hand, the talented team of Tom Taylor, Nikola Scott and Robson Rocha created Val-Zod for their 2014 adventure Earth 2. As a resident of one of the many Earths in the Multiverse, Earth 2 Superman is the adopted son of Clark Kent’s father Jor-El and Val-Zod is sent to Earth with his adopted brother Kal-El.

Either one of these characters would be incredible to see on the big screen and what’s more important is that they would open the door for so many other stories to be told. Calvin Ellis, for example, works with a version of the Justice League that features Wonder Woman’s Black sister Nubia. Over in the comic books, acclaimed writer John Ridley is exploring a future version of Gotham City in Future State: The Next Batman, where Lucius Fox’s son Tim Fox (brother of Batwing’s Luke Fox) has donned the cape and cowl.

In short, there is no end to the stories that could be told across the DC Universe and Warner Bros would be wise to develop a multi-phase strategy like Marvel that allows for some of these characters to come to life, whether it’s on the CW, HBO Max or on the big screen.

Most importantly, instead of looking at ways to reboot Superman, let’s give some love to characters who would expand Superman’s world and open up the Multiverse with exciting new stories.