Regé-Jean Page has become a bit of a household name thanks to his breakout role in the Netflix Original Series Bridgerton. But, he may have taken flight in a different iconic role if things had gone a certain way, as he was up for the role of Superman’s grandfather, Seg-El, in the series that ultimately became Krypton.
The revelation came as a result of a deep-dive interview between The Hollywood Reporter and actor Ray Fisher who spoke up about issues involving race and executives involved with the Justice League film after original director Zack Snyder departed and was replaced by Whedon. Ray Fisher’s accusations come alongside chatter that Regé-Jean Page was considered for the role of Seg-El on Krypton, as producers were passionate about non-traditional, open-ethnicity casting for the role of Superman’s grandfather, only to allegedly be told by an executive that “Superman could not have a Black grandfather,” implying that one would expect the grandfather to look like Henry Cavill. While Krypton was originally developed to look more like Man of Steel and its aesthetic, members of Zod’s family were, indeed, Black in the Syfy series, and didn’t look like Michael Shannon, so that excuse held no weight. When Zod himself showed up, he arrived as played by actor Colin Salmon who is also not white.
Page responded to this today — or at least, it seems he did with the “fly” reference — in a tweet.
“Hearing about these conversations hurts no less now than it did back then. The clarifications almost hurt more tbh [to be honest],” he wrote. “Still just doing my thing. Still we do the work. We still fly.”
The actor who did land the Seg-El on Krypton, Cameron Cuffe, has responded to Page’s Tweet.
“Regé is an inspiration to me and thousands of other artists. No one should feel okay benefiting from individuals or institutions that treat their fellow humans so unjustly. Change must happen,” he wrote.
We hope there is a role for Regé-Jean Page in the DC Universe someday — you know, they are looking to cast a new John Constantine and he’d likely be perfect… but, of course, it’s pretty certain that after Bridgerton Page can land any role he would possibly want.