Warner Bros. and DC Films have made the decision not to move forward with the production of two movies, Aquaman: The Trench and New Gods. As a result, Ava DuVernay and James Wan will not have the opportunity to make cinematic history. DuVernay was on track to become the first Black woman to lead a superhero film for DC Films and Wan was set to become the first Asian man to direct two movies for DC Films.
"As part of our DC slate, some legacy development titles including New Gods and The Trench will not be moving forward," DC Films and Warner Bros. wrote in a joint 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."
In the aftermath of the cancellation, DuVernay thanked her team for the work they had put in over the last year in preparation for the film's release.
"Tom, I loved writing New Gods with you. 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," she said about her co-creator, Tom King.
While this cancellation is disappointing, DuVernay is currently working on a series about the life of Colin Kaepernick and a television movie called the Battle of Versailles. Not to mention, she's also slated to produce a series for DC Comics called DMZ. Meanwhile, Wan is prepping the release of two movies, Spiral and Mortal Kombat, this summer. These two are not slowing down any time soon.
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