Warner Bros. Studios has just acquired the feature adaptation rights for Kwanza Osajyefo and Tim Smith 3's co-created Black Mask Studios comic series Black from Studio 8. The comic centers around a world where only Black people have acquired superpowers.
According to Deadline, Bryan Edward Hill, a producer on DC’s Titans, wrote the script for the adaptation. Jeff Robinov, Guy Danella, and John Graham are also set to produce it along with Studio 8, with Black Mask Studios' Matteo Pizzolo and Brett Gurewitz set to serve as producer and executive producer respectively. They are still looking for a director, while Osajyefo and Smith will also be acting as co-producers.
"Part of the inspiration for Black came from my experiencing the lack of representation in comics publishing and how that directly relates to the scarceness of black characters,” Osajyefo said in a statement. “For most of comics’ history, white outcasts have been used as allegories for marginalized groups while claiming to reflect the world outside our window. BLACK strips away this veneer to juxtapose superpowers with race while allowing black people to see ourselves authentically in media and inviting wider audiences into parts of our experience. We’re excited to bring this story to everyone through film, and thankful to Studio 8 for believing in it.”
The synopsis for the original comic source material is as follows:
"After miraculously surviving being gunned down by police, a young man learns that he is part of the biggest lie in history. Now he must decide whether it's safer to keep it a secret or if the truth will set him free."
The comic initially gained attention back in 2016, when it's Kickstarter campaign gained heavy traction. Now, with Warner Bros. spearheading the adaptation, it's bound to break through.
