Warner Bros. and DC's live-action Static Shock movie as a whisper. Now, things are officially kicking into full gear. According to Hollywood Reporter, writer Randy McKinnon (known for Disney's football series, Safety) has signed on to pen the script. Back in October of last year, it was announced that Michael B. Jordan would be producing the adaptation.
"I'm proud to be a part of building a new universe centered around Black superheroes; our community deserves that," Jordan said. "Outlier Society is committed to bringing to life diverse comic book content across all platforms and we are excited to partner with Reggie and Warner Bros. on this initial step."
The upcoming movie will follow Virgil Hawkins – no casting announcement has been made yet – as he steps into his heroic alter ego, Static Shock. Hawkins becomes Static after having an unplanned meeting with some radioactive goo that gives him the powers to control electromagnetic fields. That gives him a pretty wide-range of magnetic abilities, but the ones you'll see most are the manipulation of any given object – first a trashcan lid and then a special disc – to become a kind of skateboard, and the power to shoot electromagnetic blasts from his hands.
Though many fans first met Static Shock during the golden age of Saturday morning cartoons in the early 2000s, Static was first introduced in 1993 by the trailblazing Milestone Comics. Milestone, an all-Black vertical founded by Dwayne McDuffie, Denys Cowan, Michael Davis, and Derek T. Dingle, is still publishing in tandem with DC Comics today.
Anxious to learn more about Static before his upcoming film? Check out our Best Shots review of Static Shock: Rebirth of the Cool.
