Zatanna writer Emerald Fennell opened up about jumping into the DC Extended Universe to tackle the magic-user, confirming that the movie will lean into its supernatural elements.
Fennell spoke to Variety about jumping from Oscar contender Promising Young Woman to tackling a blockbuster superhero film. Fennell was announced as the writer of the movie, rumored to have been in development for some time, but there's still no director attached. Would Fennell, who wrote and directed Promising Young Woman, be interested in the gig? "It’s so exciting. That’s not a conversation that’s happened at all, so I have no insight, and also, we’re still in the early days," Fennell said.
While it might be too early for the project to worry about who's directing it, Fennell assured fans that the genre elements that are key to Zatanna's comics will factor into the film.
"It’s something that we’ve been working on for a while. I’ve been speaking to Bad Robot [Productions], who are amazing. You want to get the first bit right, which is the script, before you think of anything else," she said. "It’s a very specific thing – the world of superhero movies is incredibly exciting, but it’s also a new different challenge. The main thing for me is making sure that it’s really, really good. I’m such a genre fan. I’m a fan of witchcraft, magic, and comic books, and this is scary and intense."
Zatanna Zatara, created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Murphy Anderson for 1964's Hawkman #4, is a powerful sorcerer who can cast spells by saying what she wants backward, similar to her father, Zatara the Magician. While this will be her first introduction to the DCEU, Zatanna has appeared in several DC animated series like Justice League Unlimited and Young Justice. Serinda Swan played a live-action version of the hero on Smallville.
Along with leading her own film, rumors indicate Zatanna will be part of the roster of J.J. Abrams' Justice League Dark series on HBO Max. The writer and director's deal with Warner Bros. also reportedly includes series related to the movie, and Costantine and Zatanna shows were rumored. It seems the latter will now be a film, however, but it seems DC is finally joining the film/TV crossover world with Justice League Dark and Zatanna along with the upcoming Peacemaker, show which will spin out of The Suicide Squad.
Source: Variety