“Hearing about these conversations hurts no less now than it did back then.”
Regé-Jean Page Responds to Report He Wasn't Cast in Superman Show Because of His Race
On April 6, The Hollywood Reporter published a story that claims Bridgerton star Regé-Jean Page was passed over to play Superman's grandfather on the SyFy TV series Krypton because of his race. Per the article, producer Geoff Johns, who helmed Krypton, “said Superman could not have a Black grandfather.” Johns also reportedly shut down an idea to make one of the characters on the show, Adam Strange, gay or bisexual.
In a statement to THR, Johns's rep said, “Geoff celebrates and supports LGTBQ characters, including Batwoman, who in 2006 was re-introduced as LGBTQ in a comic-book series co-written by Johns.” As for why Page didn't get the role, THR reports Johns's rep said, “[Johns] believed fans expected the character to look like a young Henry Cavill.”
Now, Regé-Jean Page himself is weighing in on the story. He took to Twitter on Wednesday, April 7, and said, “Hearing about these conversations hurts no less now than it did back then. The clarifications almost hurt more tbh. Still just doing my thing. Still we do the work. We still fly.”
https://twitter.com/regejean/status/1379852635143090179
Messages of support for Page are currently flooding social media. “So, there is a #Superman reboot coming from Ta-Nehisi Coates featuring a black Man of Steel,” journalist Andy Behbakht tweeted, referring to this untitled Superman project. “Absolutely ridiculous that #RegeJeanPage got rejected from #Krypton because of his skin color. If it were up to me, I would make him the next Superman in the upcoming reboot.”
“A person can look like Henry Cavill and still have a grandparent that looks like Rege-Jean Page,” someone else tweeted. And a third said, “Page doesn't need your Superman, DC Entertainment,” which, yup! Page is one of the most sought-after actors in Hollywood. He definitely got the last laugh here.
That being said, this revelation from The Hollywood Reporter proves no matter what progress Hollywood thinks it's made, there's still a long way to go.
This story originally appeared on: Glamour - Author:Christopher Rosa
