Geoff Johns has denied the recent allegation that he blocked Justice League.
When Ray Fisher first spoke out about unprofessional and abusive behavior on the set of Justice League, Joss Whedon was the main point of focus. Fisher has since elaborated on his initial claims, explaining that Whedon’s misconduct was consistently enabled and magnified by various DC and Warner Bros. executives, including Johns. The Cyborg actor, whose restored performance in Zack Snyder’s Justice League has been highly praised, has said that Johns made multiple demeaning comments and requests to him during production, including asking him to smile more in the movie and suggesting he play the role like Quasimodo.
An extensive report from THR has also cited multiple sources who worked on Krypton claiming that the series’ creatives wanted to cast Bridgerton breakout star Regé-Jean Page as Superman’s grandfather, but that Johns vetoed the decision because the character couldn’t be Black. A rep for Johns has now denied that claim, per E! News. "Geoff never said Superman can't have a Black ancestor or be Black—there have been diverse versions of Superman throughout the comics for decades so he does and can be diverse,” Johns’ rep said. "However, the expectation for KRYPTON was that it would initially be perceived as a possible prequel to Man of Steel by the fans, and the lead was expected to invoke a young Henry Cavill."
Page himself has commented on the recent controversy surrounding his vetoed casting, saying that it “hurts no less now than it did back then. The clarifications almost hurt more tbh.” The statement from Johns’ rep doesn’t deny that Page was vetoed, it just denies that there was racial motivation for that veto. However, the claim that Krypton was meant as a prequel to Man of Steel doesn’t make much sense, given that the series was never considered canonical with the DCEU.
Even if Page’s veto were in the interest of continuity with Man of Steel, it’s still a problematic choice given Krypton’s narrative detachment from the film, and the statement from Johns’ rep seems to miss the nuance on why such a decision would still be harmful. The controversy points to a larger problem in Hollywood, where stories centering white characters are seen as the norm, and Black actors and storytellers are pushed to the perimeter. It was recently announced that Ta-Nehisi Coates is writing a live-action Superman film starring a Black actor for DC. Perhaps Regé-Jean Page could have a shot at playing the actual Man of Steel when that happens.
Source: E! News