New Gods director/screenwriter Ava DuVernay and co-screenwriter Tom King have offered some heartfelt thoughts following DC and Warner Bros.' decision to cancel the planned comic book film based on Jack Kirby's beloved Fourth World mythos.
"Tom, I loved writing New Gods with you," DuVernay wrote on Twitter. "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... [Darkseid is]."
"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," King added. "I really felt Kirby's legacy was being honored here and I wish we could've kept going. That one Barda/Scott scene where… damn."
Selma director DuVernay was tapped to helm a New Gods film for DC and Warner Bros. in 2018, with Kario Salem attached to pen the script. In 2019, DuVernay announced she would instead be writing the film alongside comic book writer Tom King, who wrote the 12-part Mister Miracle maxi-series for DC. Illustrated by Mitch Gerads, the Eisner Award-winning title features multiple characters from the New Gods/Fourth World mythos, most notably Mister Miracle, Big Barda and Darkseid.
In addition to New Gods, Warner Bros. canceled the planned Aquaman spinoff film 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 their recent statement. "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."
On that last note, The Hollywood Reporter says that there is a possibility for New Gods and The Trench to be revived in the future, but for the time being, Warner Bros. didn't want to leave the projects in limbo, seeing as how it already has a packed DC slate moving forward. THR also reports that the HBO Max release of Zack Snyder's Justice League may have played a role in New Gods' cancellation, as DC Films was hesitant to feature the villain Darkseid again so soon.
Source: Twitter\@ava | Twitter\@TomKingTK