Yesterday brought the news that Warner Bros. and DC Films had decided against moving forward on two in-development comic book adaptations. Aquaman spinoff The Trench was officially consigned to the history books, as was Ava DuVernay’s New Gods, which had been in the works since March 2018.
Of course, it was hardly a shock that the studio pulled the plug, when there’s been very little forward progress made on the latter movie in the last three years. The last official update came almost a year ago when DuVernay revealed on social media that she’d finished the fourth draft of the script with co-writer Tom King, while the filmmaker is plenty busy with a number of projects in the works for Netflix.
Naturally, there’s been many a conspiracy theory circulating online that New Gods was dropped because it was set to feature Darkseid as a major player, with a lot of fans believing that it’s not a coincidence that a character who just made his live-action debut in Zack Snyder’s Justice League is being swept under the rug as the WB execs are actively trying to distance themselves from the SnyderVerse. However, the reactions are a lot more wide-ranging than that, as you can see below, although it appears nobody’s really mourning the loss of The Trench as of yet.
The Trench I don't really care, but New Gods?!?!?!! https://t.co/zdEKiXPisD pic.twitter.com/Iuwke5ip0a
— 강세민 (@s4m_1223) April 1, 2021
https://twitter.com/comic_erika/status/1377744624089845760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1377744624089845760%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcomicbook.com%2Fdc%2Fnews%2Fdc-comics-fans-furious-over-new-gods-movie-being-cancelled%2F
I know enough about the New Gods to know they don't deserve this amount of disrespect from Warner Bros.
— FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA, ELON CAN GO LICK MY PEE (@plante_nathan) April 1, 2021
I didn't care about The Trench, but New Gods?? Really? Screw WB, really. What is going on in those offices? https://t.co/s7q7DWEW11
— Laura (@Lrbcn) April 1, 2021
Hiring @ava and @TomKingTK to bring the New Gods to life was the smartest thing WB/DC ever did.
Canceling said project is the dumbest thing WB/DC ever did. And yes, that includes making the Catwoman movie.
— 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 (@DaneDavenport) April 1, 2021
https://twitter.com/Funk_Barn/status/1377748911067119617?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1377748911067119617%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcomicbook.com%2Fdc%2Fnews%2Fdc-comics-fans-furious-over-new-gods-movie-being-cancelled%2F
I would have really liked to see a @ava helmed New Gods movie (or hell, a SERIES). I guess the writing was on the wall all this time without new developments, but I’m bummed.
— alien seccs fiend (@xenodork) April 1, 2021
True from what I’m hearing the script for New Gods was a love letter to Kirby’s amazing work & I had faith that Ava DuVernay & Tom King created a great script for
New Gods & WB has made a ton of wrong moves with DC! This already causing a outrage with DC fans with #SaveNewGods— Josh❤️ #BB26 & Superman #BlackLivesMatter (@supermangeek101) April 1, 2021
BUMMED about @wbpictures dropping the NEW GODS. Ava woulda CRUSHED it.
Wild move, esp since @snydercut put em on all our radar again.
But I read…
"The projects will remain in their skillful hands if they were to move forward in the future."
So. #ReleaseTheNewGods, shall we? pic.twitter.com/mK4zRvFNYl
— Larry Yeetliong (@micQuestion) April 1, 2021
Why would they cancel new gods?! That movie has the potential to be their avengers endgame! Gives us a view into Darkseid's story Arc! Shey Warner Bros dey mad ni?! https://t.co/TBJB1cfhmP
— Runestone Cowboy (@OtunbaBrickz) April 2, 2021
New Gods has gathered virtually no momentum since first being added to the docket, so it’s not the most surprising thing in the world to hear it’s been canned for good, especially when the history of the DCEU is littered with titles that get announced before quickly vanishing into the ether of development hell. That being said, the Darkseid connection is still going to make this one sting for some SnyderVerse supporters.