Producer Adi Shankar Says His SUPERMAN VS. THE KU KLUX KLAN Project was Energized By Bill Maher's Comic Book Culture Remarks
Adi Shankar, the producer of Netflix’s Castlevania, has an interesting new project that he’s developing called Superman Vs. The Ku Klux Klan.
Deadline had a chance to talk to Shankar about this project and they explain that it was “indirectly energized by Bill Maher’s put-downs of comic book culture and comments about the late Stan Lee.”
When talking about the project, Shankar explained, “The comic-book/video game industry needs our Shakespeare in Love we need our Capote and Finding Neverland,” Shankur said, referring to acclaimed dramas that turned writers into screen characters. “The founders of nerd culture must be celebrated as much as the franchises they have given birth to. It’s our history. We also need to tell stories about how these myths have had a tangible impact on our material world. That’s where Superman vs KKK comes in.”
The project will be based on the book of the same name that was written by Rick Bowers, and here’s a description of the story:
This book tells a group of intertwining stories that culminate in the historic 1947 collision of the Superman Radio Show and the Ku Klux Klan. It is the story of the two Cleveland teenagers who invented Superman as a defender of the little guy and the New York wheeler-dealers who made him a major media force. It is the story Ku Klux Klan's development from a club to a huge money-making machine powered by the powers of fear and hate and of the folklorist who--along with many other activists-- took on the Klan by wielding the power of words. Above all, it tells the story of Superman himself--a modern mythical hero and an embodiment of the cultural reality of his times--from the Great Depression to the present.
The story also chronicles "a former Klan member who goes undercover in 1947 Atlanta and works with the Anti-Defamation League and the producer of the Superman radio show."
This is a powerful story that has the potential to make for a great film. Shankar goes on to say that “Fandom was built on a blueprint of mortality and the stories of people grappling with godlike power are more relevant now in the age of limitless technology than before.”
He added:
“Superheroes operate outside the scope of law and offer us hope that someone will rise up and protect us when government and other institutions cannot or will not. This story shows the power of the superhero mythology and it’s tangible impact on the physical world.”
When previously talking about the series, one of the other producers, Marc Rosen, said:
“Fighting the forces of evil with brain over brawn, artists taking down bullies and the power of a good piece of content, it’s a real case of truth being cooler than fiction."
I’m really curious to see how this movie turns out. This is just one amazing example of the positive effects that comic culture has been utilized to help make the world a better place.