After basking in the mammoth global success of The Umbrella Academy, Netflix is planning to deliver a six-part superhero series, Supacell, with Andrew Onwubolu aka Rapman at the helm. Apart from his directional duties, the prominent South London helmer will also serve as the series’ writer. Additionally, the show is gaining a lot of buzz for its all-black leading cast. Should we consider it as the streaming service’s take on Marvel’s Black Panther movie? Let’s delve deep into this thing!
Netflix possesses an ample number of original sci-fi, rom-com, comedy, fantasy, drama, and thriller series. But when it comes to the superhero genre, the list becomes surprisingly short. The only prominent superhero live-action outing the streaming platform has right now is Raising Dion except The Umbrella Academy. Yes, there was a time when it enjoyed the company of various Marvel instalments like Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and many more. But now, they are a part of ‘The Defenders Saga’ on Disney+.
Now, let’s shift our attention to the main topic. How about we check out some similarities between Supacell and the Black Panther film? The latter amassed more than $700 million at the US box office with a staggering global collection of $1.348 billion. We can point out various factors for the film’s gigantic success, especially in North America. But the most significant one was the preponderance of black performers in its cast in addition to having a black director. Also, this scenario proved Marvel’s love of film diversity.
We know how Hollywood loves to talk about diversity in films and tv shows. And we also know that having a racially diverse cast has become a ‘must’ for all the major production houses and streaming services in Hollywood these days. It is not like Netflix is not familiar with this case. But bestowing a superhero entry with a completely black cast can result in something very special for the streaming platform.
Furthermore, both Supacell and Black Panther have black directors. Ryan Coogler also helped Joe Robert Cole in writing the latter’s screenplay besides performing his helming duties. Rapman is also doing the same job with the former instalment. However, we don’t know whether Supacell will be able to reach new heights in terms of cultural significance during its streaming run. But it is sure to lure a large number of viewers towards itself. Plus, various reports have revealed a significant improvement in the percentage of underrepresented ethnic/racial performers in Hollywood in the last 5-6 years. It is quite clear that people adore racially diverse projects nowadays.
Rapman’s Supacell will display the tale of six strangers from South London who accidentally gain superpowers with no apparent connection between them other than them all being Black. One man unites them to save his true love and protects them from evil ‘agents’. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the production work was scheduled to commence this year with a release window in 2023. Although, Netflix has not yet revealed anything about the series’ dispatch date. Stay tuned for more updates.
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