John Ridley plans for diverse Batman to lead new comics series
Ridley Ladronn
John Ridley could be heralding a new era for DC Comics by helping bring to life its first Black Batman.
During Ridley's panel at DC FanDome’s Hall of Heroes "Legacy of the Bat" event on Saturday, it was announced he is writing a new four-issue mini-series about a Batman who isn't Bruce Wayne. This will be the award-winning screenwriter's first time writing about the Gotham City hero, though hardly his first time working with DC or writing comics.
“I think it's a pretty safe bet that if I'm writing Batman, it’s probably a little better than a 47% chance he’s going to be a person of color,” Ridley said during the panel.
He also teased that the focus of the series will be the family of Lucius Fox, head of Wayne Enterprises.
“But [Fox] has a family and this is a family that has secrets, has kept secrets from one another,” he added. “It’s a little bit different dynamic than the Batman that we've always seen.”
Fox was portrayed by Morgan Freeman in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight trilogy and in the Batman Begins video game. Other actors who've portrayed the fictional character include Ernie Hudson (Batman: Bad Blood), Chris Chalk (Gotham), and Phil LaMarr (various animated projects).
The limited series is set to be released in January 2021.
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