According to Deadline, Warner Bros. Pictures has officially teamed up with Studio 8 to develop the film adaptation of co-creators Kwanza Osajyefo and Tim Smith 3’s popular comic book series titled Black which centers around a world where only Black people can possess superpowers. Osajyefo and Smith have also signed on as producers with the team reportedly searching for the project’s director.
“Part of the inspiration for Black came from my experiencing the lack of representation in comics publishing and how that directly relates to the scarceness of black characters,” Osajyefo said in a statement. “For most of comics’ history, white outcasts have been used as allegories for marginalized groups while claiming to reflect the world outside our window. BLACK strips away this veneer to juxtapose superpowers with race while allowing black people to see ourselves authentically in media and inviting wider audiences into parts of our experience. We’re excited to bring this story to everyone through film, and thankful to Studio 8 for believing in it.”
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First published in 2016, Black follows the story of one young man who survives a violent event and realizes that he is part of these extraordinary people, but a secret consortium wants to control these abilities and those who possess them, and he soon finds himself at the center of a war over the future of mankind itself.
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The first issue’s official synopsis reads: “In a world that already hates and fears them — what if only Black people had superpowers. After miraculously surviving being gunned down by police, a young man learns that he is part of the biggest lie in history. Now he must decide whether it’s safer to keep it a secret or if the truth will set him free.”
The comic was a product of a successful Kickstarter campaign where it raised over $90,000. Since then, it gained recognition and had spawned multiple spinoffs including Black AF, creating a rich shared universe that can either be adapted into film or series.
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The film adaptation is written by Titans producer Bryan Edward Hill with Studio 8’s Jeff Robinov, Guy Danella, and John Graham set as producers. Black Mask Studio’s Matteo Pizzolo and Brett Gurewitz will be serving as a producer and executive producers, respectively.
