A discussion titled “Legacy of the Bat” was held online as part of the 24-hour DC FanDome 2020 stream. It was attended by the Oscar winner for the script of the film "12 Years of Slavery", director and screenwriter John Ridley. During the discussion, he revealed that he plans to develop the plot of a limited series of comics about Batman.
Ridley noted the importance of comics in raising children and adolescents from different cultures.
“A significant part of my life has been associated with people like Batman - those who decided to make this world a better place. And even though we partly wishful thinking, but we want the younger generation to believe exactly in this - that everyone can be part of a common cause, ”said the screenwriter.
“For a long time, for those of us outside of our mainstream culture, the race of Batman, Superman or Wonder Woman was not important, because for us they are simply the embodiment of the desire for a better state of affairs,” he stressed.
During the live broadcast of the discussion, the first drawing of the series by José Ladronne appeared on the screen. The image shows the character from the back. John Ridley suggested that the new hero might not be white.
“It is very likely that if I write Batman, most likely (with a little more than 47% probability), he will be black. I would say so, ”- said the scriptwriter.
- John Ridley
- Reuters
- © Mario Anzuoni
According to fans of the franchise, this decision is also supported by the fact that Ridley plans to focus on the history of the Fox family. He notes that both the plot and the nature of the narrative will be different from the comics of other authors.
“The members of this family have their own secrets, they kept them secret from each other. There is a slightly different dynamic here, not the same as the Batman we are used to seeing, ”- said the writer.
The character Lucius Fox, who is on the side of Batman, in the films "Batman Begins," "The Dark Knight" and "The Dark Knight Rises" was played by Morgan Freeman. In the TV series "Gotham", the role was played by another African American actor Chris Chock (interestingly, he also starred in the film "12 Years of Slavery").
In the comic book plot, Lucius' son Luke acts as Batwing - one of Batman's assistants, reminiscent of TMZ. This gives fans hope that he will become the new superhero.
- Shot from the movie "Batman Begins"
- © kinopoisk.ru
At the end of the discussion, Ridley spoke about what his first impressions of Batman are related to.
“Many years ago there was a two-part story in which Batman and Superman were captured and sent to a gulag somewhere in Siberia. The plot was quite down-to-earth, it was riddled with pain and suffering, but at the same time it was a comic about how people can be heroic when everything around them is against them, ”the writer shared his memories.
According to DC Chief Creative Officer Jim Lee, the series by John Ridley and artist Nick Derington will hit stores in January 2021. It is planned to publish four issues in total.
In May, We Got This Covered reported that Warner Bros. is going to make a film about black Batman. According to the publication, actor Daniel Kaluuya was among the candidates for the lead role. However, these rumors were not confirmed.
John Ridley vs. Gone With the Wind
In June 2020, against the backdrop of protests in the United States, John Ridley outlined his position on the racial issue in culture. He wrote a column for the Los Angeles Times in which he asked the management of the streaming service HBO Max to temporarily remove Gone With the Wind from the catalog.
The screenwriter noted that in the 1939 film the Confederation is romanticized and painful stereotypes are broadcast. However, he suggested not to remove the tape forever, but to provide it with materials that discuss the historical context and clarify the position of WarnerMedia.
The company supported his idea and, two weeks after it was removed from the library, returned the film, accompanied by a commentary, which is invited to view the audience before watching. At the same time, a number of netizens considered such actions inappropriate.