With the radio silence from both production teams in recent months, this news comes as no shock yet fans of DC Films will still be upset by the news that Warner Bros. has shelved two of their upcoming projects.
THR reports that Warner Bros. and DC have decided not to move forward with Ava DuVernay’s New Gods and James Wan’s The Trench at this time. The studio released a statement about the cancellations.
“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 the 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.”
The reasons for these projects not moving forward have not been officially disclosed, but it seems to come on the tails of WarnerMedia’s Ann Sarnoff explosive interview where she spoke about the state of the DCEU. Sources close to the situation note that The Trench was shelved as they felt Aquaman 2 was “considered enough” for now and would return to this project if fans clamor for more set in the Atlantean kingdoms.
However, New Gods movie comes with a stranger situation as THR notes that Darkseid’s appearance in Zack Snyder’s Justice League could have played a part in this decision. They note that “there was a desire to have space between the latter and any new appearances.” This move feels ironic to some fans, given that multiple Batman and Superman stories are happening across animation, television, and films right now.
Ava DuVernay took to Twitter to open about working on New Gods with Tom King:
Are you disappointed that WB and DC Films have pulled the plug on The Trench and New Gods? Let us know on our social channels @FlickeringMyth…