DC Comics has enlisted Oscar-winning screenwriter John Ridley (12 Years a Slave) to helm an ambitious new project that offers a more racially and politically charged look at the history of the DC Universe.

Loading

Dubbed The Other History of the DC Universe, this limited series will center on heroes from various marginalized groups in the DCU, be they racial minorities, members of the LGBT community or even aliens. The main cast will include Green Lantern John Stewart, Extraño, Vixen, Supergirl, Katana and Renee Montoya. Ridley's story will reexamine key events in DC lore from the perspective of these characters and chronicle their respective struggles to embrace their true selves.“I could not be more excited by the opportunity to excavate the canon of the DC Universe through a vast array of characters who’ve earned their seat at the table,” said Ridley in DC's press release. “I’m very impressed with DC's commitment to making their history as reverent and urgent as it is engaging and entertaining for all its many fans.”This isn't Ridley's first DC project. He wrote the 2007 miniseries The Authority: Human on the Inside, and he and artist Georges Jeanty are currently finishing up their sequel to the alternate history superhero saga The American Way for DC's Vertigo imprint. However, The Other History of the DC Universe will mark Ridley's first time working within the DC Universe.DC has yet to reveal the artist or artists working on this new project, and so far the release date is only listed as "winter 2018." The Other History of the DC Universe will be spotlighted at the "DC in D.C." pop-up event in Washington D.C. this weekend. Ridley will discuss the new series at a panel called "The Many Shades of Heroism: DC Heroes Through the African American Lens." That panel is scheduled for 11am EST on Saturday and will be broadcast on DC's YouTube channel

Jesse is a mild-mannered writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter , or Kicksplode on MyIGN