In sad, and frankly disappointing news from the world of DC Films, the decision has been made to cancel Ava DuVernay’s New Gods film, also James Wan’s Aquaman horror spinoff, The Trench.
The news comes from THR, who also have a statement issued by Warner Bros…
“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 skillful hands if they were to move forward in the future.”
In short: the DC Films brass has changed since these projects were announced and they would like to go in a different direction.
In the case of New Gods we can see why, right? The film would’ve centered on the weird cosmic creations of legendary artist Jack Kirby, and would’ve featured Darkseid as the villain. Considering his presence in Zack Snyder’s Justice League it’s unlikely WB wants to remind people of him right now.
The Trench was a horror spinoff of Aquaman featuring the monstrous creatures he and Mera faced. The film, which Wan would’ve produced, had a script by Noah Gardner and Aidan Fitzgerald but no director. As for why The Trench was canceled, “sources say that the upcoming Aquaman sequel was considered enough.”
I guess if the Trench is in Aquaman 2 that would make some sense.
But the New Gods thing is really disappointing because DuVernay is someone who could do something really special in the superhero genre. She’s eyed projects with Marvel in the past but it looked like DC was where she would call home. Now I’m curious if Kevin Feige is blowing up her phone right now. He should be.
Thank you, Ray. You’ve been nothing but gracious towards me. Appreciate you. And fans who supported. I’m told the studio will be speaking about their recent decision about NEW GODS characters soon. I hope our paths cross one day, sir. If not in the Fourth World, then in another. https://t.co/3Ncrqk1cXf
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) April 1, 2021
