Ava DuVernay’s New Gods, James Wan’s The Trench Films No Longer Happening for Reasons We Don’t Fully Understand

Because DC giveth and it taketh away, Warner Bros. and DC Films’ upcoming slate of films is no longer going to include Ava DuVernay’s New Gods and James Wan’s Aquaman spinoff, The Trench.

“As part of our DC slate, some legacy development titles including New Gods and The Trench will not be moving forward,” Warner Bros. and DC said in a statement shared with The Hollywood Reporter. “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 would remain in their skillful hands if they were to move forward in the future.”

The news, which dropped on April Fools’ Day, has been confirmed to be true, and I am … well, not taking it well, as per my initial reaction on Twitter.

Director Ava DuVernay shared her feelings on Twitter, saying, “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.”

The Tom she refers to is comic book writer Tom King, who has written many titles for the industry, including Mister Miracle for DC Comics.

King Responded:

“Ava! I’m so incredibly proud of the work we did, it was such a joy seeing you bring your passion and talent to these characters. I really felt Kirby’s legacy was being honored here and I wish we could’ve kept going,” he said.

But the part that made me want to throw my computer was when he added: “That one Barda/Scott scene where…damn.”

Well, allow me to keep raging from the inside.

Why has this happened? Apparently because, according to The Hollywood Reporter, of Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Of (bleeping) course.

New Gods, which would have been a sprawling tale, was complicated by the fact that its villain, Darkseid, just appeared as a major foil in Zack Snyder’s Justice League and there was a desire to have space between the latter and any new appearances.

The DC media universe has countless Batmans, Supermans, two Flashes in tandem, an unceasing deluge of Jokers, etc., and yet because Darkseid just appeared in the Snyder Cut, we can’t have New Gods? This from the same company that will have two different Batman universes going at once?

With The Trench, sources say that Warner Bros. considered the upcoming Aquaman sequel enough, but it could still happen down the line if there is a “thirst for more adventures set in the Atlantean kingdoms.” Apparently,  it was also considered for streaming, but it is more of a standalone story, which, you know, is fine! We love a standalone story. Also, Aquaman is still the biggest DCEU film they’ve had numbers-wise, so the fact that they are wondering if there is a “thirst for it”? I’m like … yes, there is a thirst. A billion-dollar thirst.

Why aren’t you jumping on this?

I love DC. I even enjoyed the Snyder Cut for what it was, but the decisions they make behind the scenes, to quote Benoit Blanc: “It makes no damn sense.”

(via THR, image: DC Comics)

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Princess Weekes

Princess (she/her-bisexual) is a Brooklyn born Megan Fox truther, who loves Sailor Moon, mythology, and diversity within sci-fi/fantasy. Still lives in Brooklyn with her over 500 Pokémon that she has Eevee trained into a mighty army. Team Zutara forever.

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