Static Shock creator Nikolas Draper-Ivey assures fans that the upcoming DC live-action film is still in the works. Ever since the Warner Bros. Discovery merger was completed earlier this year, many shake-ups have occurred behind the scenes. HBO Max and Discovery+ will be merged into one streaming service next summer, which has led to many titles getting pulled by the studio. While Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav is retooling the studio's strategies for their various IPs, the DC brand took a big hit in August. Despite having finished principal photography in late March, Warner Bros. Discovery canceled HBO Max's Batgirl movie with Leslie Grace
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Prior to Batgirl getting shelved, Warner Bros. Discovery canceled Wonder Twins, another HBO Max original movie. After Batgirl got the ax, it cast a shadow of doubt on the DCEU's future. One project that was announced before the new regime came in was Static Shock, based on the popular Milestone Media comic. In 2020, Reginald Hudlin, along with Milestone Media's Denys Cowan and Michael Davis, announced that they were working on a live-action movie centered around Virgil Hawkins. Michael B. Jordan came on board to produce Static Shock under his Outlier Society production banner, while Safety's Randy McKinnon would write the screenplay.
While a report in August claimed that Warner Bros. Discovery had hit the pause button on Static Shock, that doesn't seem to be the case. Nikolas Draper-Ivey, who is a co-writer and artist on Static: Shadows of Dakota, recently tweeted that despite what reports are claiming, the Static Shock movie isn't dead, stressing to fans to not "worry about those articles and be patient." At this time, Draper-Ivey couldn't elaborate any further.
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Since Draper-Ivey couldn't reveal any further details, it's unclear if the Static Shock script is still being written or if the film even has a director. It's also unknown at this point if Static Shock will get a theatrical release or if Warner Bros. Discovery is considering producing it as an HBO Max original film. While Static Shock may still be alive, that isn't the only DC project that Jordan has in the works for the studio. Since July 2021, Jordan has been developing a Superman project for HBO Max, focusing on Val-Zod, an alternative take on the Man of Steel. While Val-Zod tapped writers in October 2021, there haven't been any further updates on it.
If Jordan's Static Shock film is still going forward, that could be a good sign for his Val-Zod series on HBO Max, suggesting Warner Bros. Discovery still wants to collaborate with him on multiple projects. In Static Shock's case, the film is the second attempt at a live-action project after Warner Bros. tried to develop a web series a couple of years ago. Given his popularity, primarily through his animated series, Virgil is long overdue for a live-action appearance. Hopefully, unless Warner Bros. Discovery changes its mind, the Static Shock movie will start to move forward in the coming years.