Michael B. Jordan might not be suiting up as Superman, but he’s “flattered” people thought he was up for the job.
Jordan, who next stars in Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse, spoke to several outlets about rumors that he’d be taking on the role of the most famous superhero in an upcoming DC movie.
But it seems like the actor is loosely shutting it down, instead praising Warner Bros. for signing writer Ta-Nehisi Coates to pen the screenplay.
“It’s smart of DC to grab Ta-Nehisi to go ahead and adapt that project,” Jordan, 34, told The Hollywood Reporter. “He’s incredibly talented. It’s going to be worth checking out. I’m flattered that people have me in that conversation. It’s definitely a compliment, but I’m just watching on this one.”
THR reports the movie will likely focus on a Black Superman, a storyline Jordan reportedly tried to start developing back in 2019 when he first signed a production deal with Warner Bros.
Jordan is no stranger to making roles his own. He stars as John Clark in Without Remorse, a super soldier who sometimes appears in the Jack Ryan universe.
Jordan is the first Black actor to take over the role, as Clark’s character has previously been played by William Dafoe and Liev Schreiber.
For PEOPLE’s reigning Sexiest Man Alive, the role was extra special thanks to his childhood connection to the character.
“As a kid, I’d play John Clark in the video games Rainbow Six and Ghost Recon and imagine myself in that role. So for everything to come full circle and to be able to play him in real life, it’s really fulfilling,” Jordan recently told PEOPLE.
The gritty movie serves as an origin story for Clark, who starts the movie as an elite Navy SEAL who suddenly finds himself at the center of a conspiracy between the U.S. and Russia. The role pushed Jordan to extremes, with major water stunts and action sequences.
“It was definitely very, very intense. The stunts were high-intensity moments, though they were also fun,” he says. “I trained for each one specifically. Weapons training, military diving, tactical training, close-quarter combat training.”
“But I think after developing and living with this character for a couple of years, you start to become them after a while, and it becomes a little bit easier to go to those places because you care so much about them,” he adds. “And then [to decompress], you go on a nice vacation after!”
Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse starts streaming on Amazon Prime Video April 30.
