Warner Bros and DC Films recently confirmed that they will no longer be developing two of their upcoming projects – “New Gods”, which had Ava DuVernay attached to direct; as well as “The Trench”, a spin-off of “Aquaman” previously reported to be helmed by James Wan.
The two studios have released a statement regarding the cancellation, which read, ““As part of our DC slate, some legacy development titles including “New Gods” and “The Trench” will not be moving forward. We thank our partners Ava DuVernay, Tom King, James Wan and Peter Safran for their time and collaboration during this process and look forward to our continued partnership with them on other DC stories.”
“The projects will remain in their skilful hands if they were to move forward in the future,” it added.
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| Ava DuVernay was originally attached to direct “New Gods” |
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| James Wan was previously working on “The Trench”, based on the creatures that Aquaman battled |
Sources claimed that “The Trench” was halted due to Wan’s busy schedule, while “New Gods” was complicated by its villain Darkseid already appearing in Zack Snyder’s “Justice League”.
Ava DuVernay – who would have been the first woman of colour to helm a DC superhero movie – also expressed her sadness over the decision, tweeting a photo of her with co-writer Tom King, and wrote, “Tom, I loved writing NEW GODS with you. I’m upset that the saga of Barda, Scott, Granny, Highfather and The Furies ends this way. Diving into Kirby’s Fourth World was the adventure of a lifetime. That can’t be taken away. Thank you for your friendship. And remember… #DarkseidIs”
For now, Warner Bros. and DC Films will focus on its upcoming titles, including “The Suicide Squad” (to be released on 6 August), “The Batman” (4 March 2022), and “Black Adam” (29 July 2022). Other related films in development including “Aquaman 2”, “Shazam! Fury of the Gods”, “Supergirl”, “Green Lantern Corps”, and “Static Shock”.
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| Ava DuVernay with co-writer Tom King |