Ta-Nehisi Coates to pen screenplay of upcoming Superman film from Warner Bros

Ta-Nehisi Coates, the acclaimed essayist and novelist who expanded the world of Wakanda for Marvel comics, will write the script for a new Superman film from Warner Bros.

The studio announced Friday that Coates will pen the screenplay for an upcoming Superman film that’s early in development. JJ Abrams will produce. No director or star has yet been announced.

“To be invited into the DC Extended Universe by Warner Bros, DC Films and Bad Robot is an honour,” said Coates in a statement. “I look forward to meaningfully adding to the legacy of America’s most iconic mythic hero.”

Coates is best known as the author of bestsellers including Between the World and Me, The Beautiful Struggle, and We Were Eight Years in Power. Since 2016, he has also penned the Black Panther comics for Marvel, with artist Brian Stelfreeze, a run set to conclude with a final issue in April. He was thanked in the credits of Ryan Coogler’s 2018 film Black Panther.

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“Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Between the World and Me opened a window and changed the way many of us see the world,” said Toby Emmerich, chairman of Warner Bros Pictures Group. “We’re confident that his take on Superman will give fans a new and exciting way to see the Man of Steel.”

The news was first reported by Shadow and Act.

“There is a new, powerful and moving Superman story yet to be told,” said Abrams. “We couldn’t be more thrilled to be working with the brilliant Mr Coates to help bring that story to the big screen.”