According to The Hollywood Reporter, The First Purge director Gerard McMurray has been tapped to write and direct the upcoming film adaptation of Black, based on Kwanza Osajyefo and Tim Smith’s superhero graphic novel of the same name. The project hails from Warner Bros. Pictures and Studio 8.
“Black is a bold and fresh spin on the superhero genre,” McMurray said in a statement. “I fell in love with the colorful world Kwanza and Tim created in the comics, and I’m excited to bring life to a story that entertains and challenges the audience at the same time. Black does just that.”
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First published in 2016, Black centers around a world where only Black people can possess superpowers. It follows Kareem Jenkins, a young man “who discovers his powers after surviving a violent crime,” per the synopsis. “He soon finds himself in the middle of a war over the future of humanity in a world in which a secret society seeks to control the empowered and their abilities.”
The film adaptation will be produced by Osajyefo and Smith along with Studio 8’s Jeff Robinov and John Graham. Black Mask Studio’s Matteo Pizzolo and Brett Gurewitz are serving as producer and executive producer, respectively.
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The comic book 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.
