The DC Extended Universe's New Gods film was axed back in April 2021, with the film's co-writer Ava DuVernay now discussing that another film was responsible for its canning.During an interview on SiriusXM's Andy Cohen Live, host Cohen asked the award-winning writer and director about her relationship with DC Comics, as she is currently involved in series projects like Naomi for The CW and DMZ for HBO Max, but wondered if she would be involved in any films moving forward since the New Gods script she was drafting with comic writer Tom King was cancelled. "I just like DC Comics," DuVernay answered, before saying, "I loved New Gods, which is the project that got axed. The studio decided that they did not want to pursue a certain part of that comic world based on some things that were going on with another film in that world, so before I even was able to kind of complete my script with Tom King, they axed it." The film responsible for New Gods' axing could only be one 2021 release by Warner Bros.: Zack Snyder's Justice League.
Zack Snyder's Justice League or the "Snyder Cut" is the film that fans campaigned for with the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut, sharing the tag on social media and even going as far as to rent billboards and more. The project sought to restore director Zack Snyder's vision for the film after director Joss Whedon reshot much of Snyder's original footage and used existing shots in different ways than intended. One aspect of Snyder's plans for the film included the DC big bad Darkseid, the world-conquering, Anti-Life Equation-seeking menace that led stories like Justice League: The Darkseid War and this year's Infinite Frontier series. The character was featured in Zack Snyder's Justice League, though he also has major ties to New Gods.
The New Gods are the inhabitants of the planets New Genesis and Apokolips, the latter being the world Darkseid rules over. The two worlds are usually at odds with one another and frequently fight a continuing war. In July 2019, DuVernay confirmed that Darkseid would be in New Gods, with the film's cancellation being announced weeks after Zack Snyder's Justice League released on HBO Max in March 2021. While not explicitly said or confirmed by DuVernay, it is likely that the "certain part" of "another film" that led to New Gods being scrapped was Darkseid's involvement in both projects.
Of course, DuVernay and King's New Gods was not the only project axed that April with new revelations about its story being made this month. Aquaman and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom director James Wan recently revealed that his cancelled film The Trench (canned at the same time as New Gods) was secretly going to be a Black Manta film starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, reprising his role as the classic Aquaman villain.
While there is no indication of New Gods getting revived at Warner Bros., even with the studio stating that it will not pursue Zack Snyder's vision further, DuVernay's Naomi showed its first footage during DC FanDome, also releasing images of actor Rosario Dawson in DMZ. Neither the HBO Max series or the The CW show have an official release date, though Naomi is expected to release in 2022.
Source:Â Andy Cohen Live, Twitter