Warner Bros. Ends Development On ‘New Gods’ And ‘The Trench’
by Erik Amaya
Yes, this sounds like an April Fool’s prank, but it is probably true.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, a fairly reputable source for these sorts of things, Warner Bros. Pictures will not move forward with Aquaman spinoff film The Trench or Ava DuVernay‘s planned New Gods film she was co-writing with Mr. Miracle writer Tom King. In a statement, the studio told the site, “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 Trench, set to focus on the mutated Atlantean sect glimpsed in Aquaman, was always meant to be a quick stop-gap project while Wan worked on his upcoming horror film, Malignant, and made several key decisions about the Aquaman sequel. With that project now scheduled for release on December 16th, 2022, the need for The Trench pretty much evaporates.
More disheartening, though, is the loss of the New Gods. A DuVernay/King collaboration utilizing Jack Kirby‘s Fourth World pantheon had the potential to be amazing. Of course, it also had a “over the next hill, and we promise we’ll be home” feel ever since King started working on it. Perhaps whatever initial spark DuVernay had for the material melted away in the intervening years or DC Films boss Walter Hamada has a different idea for the Fourth World. Either way, THR indicates Darkseid’s recent appearance in Zack Snyder’s Justice League made the film less of a priority to the studio.
If it is ending, of course. Today’s date makes us suspicious of film news even if it comes from a trade paper like The Hollywood Reporter.
