Warner Bros. Acquires Black to Adapt for Film
Studio 8 has announced that Warner Bros. has acquired Black, the comic series co-created by Kwanza Osajyefo and Tim Smith 3. Original artists and writers of the comic and its spinoffs include Jamal Igle, Khary Randolph, Jennifer Johnson, Vita Ayala, and Liana Kangas.
Bryan Edward Hill, who is a comic creator as well is a producer on DC’s Titans, wrote the script for the film.
In 2017 Studio 8 announced they had obtained the rights to the film with Seith Mann having originally been hired to write the script for the film in 2018.
The original Black comic series focused on Kareem Jenkins who survives being gunned down by police and joins an underground group of black superheroes learning about the world conspiracy that hides the revelations that black individuals have superpowers.
The series debuted with a teaser campaign at New York Comic Con in 2015 and went on to a Kickstarter campaign in 2016 that raised almost $92,000 from 2,775 backers. Since then, it’s resulted in numerous spin-off series featuring numerous writers and artists creating its own comic universe. The series was eventually released through comic publisher Black Mask Studios. A follow-up series, White, was Kickstarted in 2019 and went on to raise a little over $47,000 from 1,420 individuals. That series has seen release delays due to COVID.
Jeff Robinov, Guy Danella, and John Graham will produce from Studio 8 with Black Mask Studio’s Matteo Pizzolo and Brett Gurewitz to serve as producer and executive producer. Osajyefo and Smith are co-producers as well. The team is currently searching for a director.
