The Static Shock movie takes another step toward production after hiring Safety screenwriter, Randy McKinnon, to pen the script. After only seeing Static in comics and animated form for the past few decades, the electro-magnetic hero has a large fan-base hungrily awaiting the character's debut on the big screen. The story of Virgil Hawkins and his journey to become a super-charged superhero may sound like something audiences have heard before, especially when his origins involved a "radioactive" gas, but with the right script, Static Shock could end up a launching point for a whole new universe of comic-book films.
Now that McKinnon is onboard, the wheels are moving again on the movie, which had seemed a bit stagnant for the past few months since the announcement of Michael B. Jordan as producer back in October. Along with producer Reginald Hudlin, Jordan is hoping that Static Shock could launch a cinematic universe for Black Superheroes, likely pulling in other characters being published alongside the Static Shock character by DC's recently relaunched Milestone Comics imprint. And with DC's The Flash movie likely to introduce the DC multiverse, there's a strong possibility that Static Shock universe could eventually be linked right back to the main DCEU.
THR broke the news of a writer being found for Static Shock, stating that McKinnon was best known for his work writing the screenplay for Safety, a feature that debuted on Disney+ in December of 2020. In the film, McKinnon tackled the true story of a Clemson University Freshman football player who brought his little brother to live with him on campus due to problems back home. Before that credit, McKinnon's biggest claim to fame was as a staff writer on the Netflix Horror series called Chambers. It is likely that McKinnon was considered for the role after he worked with Static Shock producer, Reginald Hudlin, on Safety.
McKinnon has his work cut out for him, as there is not only decades of Static Shock material to sift through, but more importantly, there is the weight of what Static represents to keep in mind. Milestone Comics was founded in 1993 by a group of artists and writers who sought to create comics that better represented minorities, with Static being their signature character. With Milestone's recent re-emergence and the movie's producers looking to build a universe of diverse heroes, this first movie has a lot of work to do in order for that dream to come true. Add in the extra challenge of Warner Bros and DC considering an HBO Max exclusive release of Static Shock, and it becomes clear the film needs to be something truly special, especially if they are going to make a case to the studio to release it in theaters as well as streaming.
Whether or not the cinematic version of Virgil Hawkins lives up to the standards of the fans and the original creators of Static Shock may not be entirely up to McKinnon and his script, but his work will be the foundation the rest of the movie will be built upon. For a movie with so much riding on it, choosing a screenwriter with only one feature under his belt seems risky, but it could make sense if Hudlin and McKinnon have a good rapport and were already working on ideas while on the set of Safety. Fortunately for Static Shock, the film does have Michael B. Jordan on board as producer to help steer the ship, and share his experience with the other blockbuster films he has been part of over the years. Fans will just have to hope that will be enough to get Static Shock produced the way it should be.
Source: THR