12 Years a Slave writer John Ridley says his Batman will likely be a person of color

John Ridley says there’s a good likelihood that the Batman he’s writing for an upcoming four-part comic book series will be a person of color.

The 54-year-old, who’s working on a miniseries comic of the Caped Crusader, estimated on a DC panel that there’s ‘a little better than a 47 percent chance’ in regards to his Batman, according to The Hollywood Reporter. 

The Academy Award-wining writer appeared as part of the Legacy of the Bat symposium put on by DC FanDome.

‘I think it’s a pretty safe bet that, if I’m writing Batman, it’s probably a little better than a 47 percent chance he’s going to be a person of color,’ the American Crime showrunner said.

Ridley is working on the four-part series, which is due out in January, with artist Nick Derington to tell the tale of Wayne Enterprises exec Lucius Fox and his family. 

The role has past been played by Oscar-winner Morgan Freeman in the Batman films from Christopher Nolan, and Ernie Hudson in 2016’s Batman: Bad Blood.

‘This is a family that has secrets, has kept secrets from one another,’ Ridley said. ‘It’s a little bit different dynamic than the Batman that we’ve always seen.’

In the DC comic books, Lucius’s son Luke Fox has racked up superhero credentials under the moniker Batwing.

Ridley is also working for the comic company on Batman: The Joker War Zone, due out in September, and The Other History of the DC Universe for DC, which comes out in November.