Regé-Jean Page was reportedly rejected for Krypton's lead role because DC boss' concern about Superman having a Black grandfather

The Grapevine

In a lengthy Hollywood Reporter exposé, Justice League sdtar Ray Fisher went into detail about his alleged negative and discriminatory experiences with Joss Whedon, Warner Bros. and former DC Entertainment President and Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns. Fisher divulged that Syfy missed a chance to have Bridgerton breakout Page as the star of Krypton, playing Superman's grandfather Seg-El, when the show's creators expressed interest in diversifying the series set 200 years before the birth of Superman. The role ultimately went to Cameron Cuffe, who is white. "Two individuals who worked on Syfy’s Krypton TV series talked to Fisher about events that had taken place on the series," reports The Hollywood Reporter's Kim Masters. "Multiple sources tell THR that the show’s creators were passionate about doing some nontraditional casting and that Regé-Jean Page, who would go on to become a breakout star of Bridgerton, had auditioned for the role of Superman’s grandfather. But Johns, who was overseeing the project, said Superman could not have a Black grandfather. The creators also wanted to make one superhero character, Adam Strange, gay or bisexual. But sources say Johns vetoed the idea." A rep for Johns responded that the former DC executive believed fans expected the character of Superman's grandfather to look like a young Henry Cavill. The rep also 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 and that Johns also pitched Warners on developing a television show around the first LGBTQ lead DC superhero television series. Fisher tweeted in response to the article: "I appreciate Geoff Johns bringing on a crisis team to try to explain away his discriminatory behavior, but his excuses are WEAK. If Geoff believed fans expected Superman’s grandfather to look like 'a young Henry Cavill'—why was he ok with the Zods not resembling Michael Shannon?" The Hollywood Reporter article also mentions a tweet from Krypton writer Nadria Tucker, who tweeted Feb. 24: "I haven't spoken to Geoff Johns since the day on Krypton when he tried to tell me what is and is not a Black thing." Tucker tells The Hollywood Reporter that Johns objected when a Black female character's hairstyle was changed in scenes that took place on different days. "I said Black women, we tend to change our hair frequently. It's not weird, it's a Black thing," she says. "And he said, 'No, it's not.'" Johns' spokesperson responds: "What were standard continuity notes for a scene are being spun in a way that are not only personally offensive to Geoff, but to the people that know who he is, know the work he's done and know the life he lives, as Geoff has personally seen firsthand the painful effects of racial stereotypes concerning hair and other cultural stereotypes, having been married to a Black woman who he was with for a decade and with his second wife, who is Asian American, as well as his son who is mixed race."