Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson Thinks We'll See a Black Superman 'One Day'

The past several years have seen a rapid expansion of diversity in the world of comic book films, with 2018’s Black Panther and 2019’s Captain Marvel both paving the way for representations of people of color and women in blockbusters. This week, action actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson shared his thoughts on inclusion in films, saying that he thinks that the world will one day be ready for a black Superman.

Johnson spoke to Variety (via CBR) this week about the issue at the premiere of his film Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, expressing happiness at diversity in comic book films. "I think they're doing great," he said. “So, I think, you know, as everything builds and grows, and you take the temperament of society and what's happening, and I think here in Hollywood... especially with franchises and characters and publicly traded companies who are sensitive to that sort of thing.”

“Maybe one day we will see a Black Superman," Johnson said, jokingly adding, “You're looking at him."

Johnson, who himself is half-black and half-Samoan, is slated to play traditionally white DC anti-hero Black Adam in an upcoming film of the same name. This film will add to the continuing trend of (more) diverse comic book films, joining Marvel’s reported sequel to Black Panther and its upcoming Shang-Chi.

Though Johnson’s hope for a black Superman may seem nebulous, there are, in fact, a number of black iterations of Superman in the history of DC Comics--including one modelled after U.S. President Barack Obama.

As for us, we agree with Johnson--superhero movies can only get better by being more inclusive of more kinds of people, and a world with a black Superman would certainly be a great one.