Michael B. Jordan Gives Update On DC’s Static Shock Movie, How The Character Inspired Him

The DC/Milestone Comics character Static Shock is on its way to the big screen, with Michael B. Jordan producing. During a recent interview with Collider, Jordan revealed Randy McKinnon (Chambers, Grand Army) is working on a draft currently.

Jordan said he was excited about working on the upcoming project during the interview. “As a kid growing up, watching Static Shock, it was something that inspired me,” Jordan told Collider. “And had that type of representation at a young age, it was really important to me. And I know it would be important to a lot of other kids today. So to be able to adapt the live-action version of that, I’m really, really excited about. So no real timelines, and I guess no real updates or anything like that. But we’re in the process of building that out.”

The actor/producer went on to say he’s excited to have more to reveal at a later date.

The Static Shock character made his debut back in 1993 at DC Comics under the Milestone Comics banner. The character was created by Denys Cowan, Michael Davis, Derek T. Dingle, and Dwayne McDuffie.

The story follows teenager Virgil Hawkins, a boy who had been bullied by a gang member. During a battle between all the gangs in the city of Dakota, Hawkins showed up hoping to get some sort of revenge. However, police show up and tear gas the crowd with a tracking device so no one would escape arrest. However this tracking device was radioactive and Quantum Juice in it–a mutagen–and those who were exposed to this gained superpowers. Hawkins gained the ability to control electromagnetism, going by the name Static.

The character is most known for the Static Shock animated series, which aired in 2000 on Kids’ WB for four seasons. While the beloved cartoon is no longer on TV, every episode is available to stream on HBO Max. The stream service continues to grow, adding movies like Tenet for the month of May. As for Jordan, he’s currently starring in the Amazon Prime Video original Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse, which is the origin story of John Clark.