There’s a section of DC Comics followers that maintain Virgil Hawkins, a.ok.a. Static, in simply as excessive regard as heavy hitters like Superman, Batman and Surprise Lady. From his authentic Milestone Comics appearances to the animated Static Shock TV present, this electrical superhero stays a fan-favorite greater than 30 years after his debut, and I’ve been questioning if we’d see him in any of the DC Universe’s upcoming DC films or upcoming DC TV exhibits. Nicely, James Gunn, who runs the inventive aspect of DC Studios, has an replace about that… type of.
Sadly, it doesn’t sound like this new superhero franchise shall be getting a shock to its system anytime quickly. Gunn, who’s at present making the press rounds to advertise Superman (which he wrote and directed) had this to say when Pay or Wait inquired about if Static shall be stopping by the DCU:
Yeah, no updates on Static Shock. There’s a complete bunch of complexities behind that character proper now.
As somebody who grew up watching Static Shock and loved the quite a few instances it crossed over with different corners of the DC Animated Universe, I can’t assist however be disillusioned that there’s no motion on the character’s live-action debut. James Gunn didn’t elaborate on the “complexities” that plague Static proper now. It could possibly be that there’s some type of rights problem between DC and Milestone Media, although I’m curious what that may be because the Milestone Universe was relaunched again in 2020 seemingly with none issues.
Trying again to the 2010s, there was a live-action Static Shock net sequence on growth from Reginald Hudlin, with Jaden Smith reportedly being lined as much as play Virgil Hawkins, however that apparently fell by. Then in 2020, it was introduced that Michael B. Jordan was growing a live-action Static Shock film by his manufacturing firm Outlier Society. Two years later, Randy McKinnon was tapped to write down the script, and Hudlin boarded to supply alongside Jordan.
At the moment, this Static Shock film was mentioned to have “an urgency and company surrounding it” due to the expertise connected, and that it was supposed to launch a universe centered on Black superheroes. Presumably, although, it too fell by the wayside as soon as DC Studios was launched. An animated film centered on Static and different Milestone characters was additionally introduced again in 2022, however there’s been no replace on its standing.
Hopefully these “complexities” will fade away over time, as Static deserves a shot to shine in live-action, particularly in a world populated by characters like David Corenswet’s Superman, Isabela Merced’s Hawkgirl and Edi Gathegi’s Mr. Terrific, to call only a few. Till then, do not forget that the movie aspect of the DCU will kick off when Superman is launched in theaters on July 11.