#DC’s Static Shock Movie Brings in Safety Writer Randy McKinnon

Michael B. Jordan’s Static Shock adaptation has found its writer, with Randy McKinnon, who wrote the Disney+ football drama Safety, now tapped to pen the movie for DC Films, Warner Bros. Pictures, and Milestone Media. The highly anticipated comic book project is already set to be produced by Michael B. Jordan and Reginald Hudlin, who directed Safety.

McKinnon is still a relative newcomer, and alongside Disney’s Safety, which tells the story of freshman football player Ray-Ray McElrathbey, who secretly raised his younger brother on campus after his home life became too unsteady, the writer has also worked as a staff writer on the Netflix horror series Chambers, and a story editor on the drama Grand Army, for which McKinnon wrote one episode.
RELATED: Batgirl & Static Shock Movies Will Probably Go Straight to Streaming on HBO Max
The project will center on Static, who first appeared in 1993’s Static no. 1 via the now-defunct Milestone Comics. The character was revived a decade later for an animated series, Static Shock, which follow Virgil Hawkins, a 14-year-old who is accidently exposed to an experimental mutagen that leaves the geeky high school student with electromagnetic superpowers, becoming the superhero, Static. He channels his newfound powers to fight evil, aided by his pal Osgood, who builds gadgets to help Virgil fight crime.

A silver screen venture based on the Static Shock property was officially confirmed during last year’s DC FanDome event, with Black Panther star Michael B. Jordan on board as a producer. The actor, who will produce the movie under his Warner-based banner Outlier Society, has already teased plans for the project to hopefully spawn a franchise for black superheroes. “I’m proud to be a part of building a new universe centered around black superheroes; our community deserves that,” Jordan said. “Outlier Society is committed to bringing to life diverse comic book content across all platforms and we are excited to partner with Reggie and Warner Bros on this initial step.”

Jordan’s fellow producer, Reginald Hudlin, has also stated that the movie is being developed as a theatrical feature at Warner Bros. saying, “One of the things we’re really excited about, we really want to live up to the name of the company, Milestone Media. When we spoke to Jim [Lee] about reviving the Milestone line, we said ‘Look, we all know this has been a hit comic book and hit animated series. It’s time to expand back into all those areas and then some.’ So we’re in serious conversations about, as we’re launching the comic book series, developing the ‘Static Shock’ movie. That will be a theatrical feature film.”

The Static Shock movie is still without a director or a cast, with many hoping that Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker star John Boyega would be brought in as the central character. The actor though has dismissed the idea due to his age saying, ” Too old! I’d love to see a newcomer!” Should the movie follow a teenage Virgil Hawkins, it’s hard to argue with Boyega on that one. And has been rumored that Static Shock could go straight to streaming on HBO Max.

Now much has yet been revealed about Static Shock, but with Randy McKinnon now on board to write the script, expect progress on the project to really ramp up. This comes to us courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter.

Topics: Static Shock