Static Shock live action and more Warner digital

[Glitch Girl]

http://www.themarysue.com/live-action-static-shock-digital-series/

Blue Ribbon has already given series orders to three shows, including an untitled Mortal Kombat series produced in partnership with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment that is tied to the upcoming Mortal Kombat X video game release in April 2015. The action series include Static Shock, an adaptation of the Static comic from writer-producer-director Reginald Hudlin (Django Unchained). Also in development are Ouroboros from Akiva Goldsman (Paranormal Activity) and Damon Santostefano, which follows two police officers over one night in a remote part of Wisconsin.

Color me intrigued.

[Shogunn2517]

Wow!  Thank you for this!  Thank you! 

If you can't tell from the pic on the right, Milestone Comics were really important to me growing up.  They helped me understand comics a lot more.  Told stories that I was familiar with, that I wanted to see.  Static was a part of it.  He was my age.  He had similar problems that I had.  He would act as I would act.  It was a story told through my eyes.  It's the same story that's told with other characters and why a lot of us connect to them, but this one was mine.  And to be honest, I was very afraid that Milestone properties would die a slow death after Dwayne McDuffie's death.  He was the driving force behind it.  So when he passed, I thought it would have an effect on the properties.  But since they've merged the universes, Icon and Rocket have been prominently featured in YOUNG JUSTICE, now there's this.  I'm cautiously optimistic.  But I'm also thankful!  It means a lot.

[Shogunn2517]

I was actually scrolling through older pages and checked the web and then saw this. 

Spoiler

Apparently, in an interview, Tyler James Williams(Walking Dead/Everybody Hates Chris) was talking about the possibilities of playing a superhero  and he revealed that Jaden Smith might have been cast as Static in the web series that is being developed.  Don't know much else about the series, filming, "universe", or whatever else.  But it would still be interesting to see where they go with this. 

http://www.cinemablend.com/television/Was-Jaden-Smith-Just-Confirmed-Static-Shock-72083.html

[JeyNyce]

Tyler James Williams is in talks about playing Miles Morales, Ultimate Spidey while Jaden Smith is in talks about playing static

[BWPS]

Jaden Smith seems like an odd choice as he's a terrible actor and everyone hates him. I'm sure his father used his influence as usual. Still very disappointing if true, I really liked Static Shock.

[detourne_me]

I could see Tyler James Williams as Miles, but I'm also pretty happy if its Asa Butterfield as Peter.
I understand a lot of the Jaden Smith hate,  but it's really difficult to come up with another successful black child actor (and I think this is part of the issue that McDuffie was trying to address in creating Milestone Comics).  I was thinking about some of the kids from the Wire, but they're all over 25 now. heck, they only other kids I could name off the top of my head were Kid President and Cory in the House. 
I guess I am really disconnected from a lot of that target demographic though. But its no excuse, there should be some other good actors out there.

[JeyNyce]

Jaden Smith may be good at playing static.  He dressed up as Batman for Kanye West wedding and for the prom, so maybe it was a stunt for WB to take notice.  To add to that his Mom and his Dad are both playing DC characters.

[HarryTrotter]

Im pretty sure thats just a rumor.Why would you want him in your show??
I didnt read Static Shock,so I cant talk about the comic itself.But Im not a big fan of Reggie Hudlin.

[JeyNyce]

The original Static comic, by Milestone, was a great book.  Static shock was ok and the TV was ok as well.  I never got into the TV show until I found out that it was in the same universe as JLU

[detourne_me]

I don't mind Reggie Hudlin at all. I really liked his run on Black Panther with JRJr. And the Black Panther animated series he did based on the run was really cool.  I still get the theme song stuck in my head from time to time.

[Shogunn2517]

I'm not going to say I'm love or hate Reginald Hudlin or the work he's done.  I've watched and was entertained by his movies.  However that was from years ago and they were mostly of a particular genre.  Not super hero genre.  I haven't seen the BP series unfortunately and only sparsely read his run a few years back, but I heed a lot of the complaints against.  Hudlin.  Maybe not for the same reasons Spade does, but I hear it and don't always ignore it.

That said, as far as the cast and the book itself, I'm less concerned about Jaden Smith playing the role than I am about those controlling it.  they should be responsible for getting the best out of the actor.  Is he my first choice for Static?  Probably not, but as it's been mentioned, it isn't like we got a depth of choices to pick from.  DM mentioned the kids from The Wire who were younger(and talented) are fairly grown now.  Tristian Wilds and Michael E. Jordan are in their mid-20s.  However, it isn't like this is a feature film that needs a bankable name to sell the movie either.  Marcus Scribner(Black-ish) isn't doing that bad and he's DEFINITELY at a perfect age, much like an Asa Butterfield.

But yeah, this was the reason why Dwayne McDuffie wanted to do the Milestone Universe.  To increase diversity, particularly among DC Comics, which is and has lagged behind when you look at the transitions to live action.  Marvel effectively started it's universe with Blade.  Continued with Storm, specifically electing to go with the Ultimate Fury, War Machine, Falcon and now Black Panther.  Meanwhile, in DC, while Cyborg and John Stewart have become more prominent recently and of course, the Arrowverse has highlighted significant contributions from black actors, but from a heroic role?  Too bad McDuffie isn't with us any longer.  I'm sure he would have had a heavy presence in helping some of his characters come to screen.

[thalaw2]

Am I the only one who enjoyed Jaden Smith in Karate Kid?

[JeyNyce]

I liked him in After Earth.....Don't Judge Me!!

[HarryTrotter]

^Oh God...After Earth.Why did you remind me?

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

Am I the only one who enjoyed Jaden Smith in Karate Kid?

I thought he did fine.  It isn't that he's a bad actor or a bad kid, just that his dad's trying to artificially induce stardom and nobody else really cares.  Static could actually be a decent role for him.

[detourne_me]

I completely agree Shogunn! I've been thinking about doing a Joe West skin just cause of how awesome he is on the flash.

I heard some of Jaden smith's rap on SoundCloud and it's not half bad. Not as fun as his dad, but still the kids only 16. I'm not proud of ANYTHING I did when I was 16 years old.