Fresh off A Wrinkle In Time at Disney, Ava DuVernay is reportedly on the verge of closing a deal to helm the big-screen adaptation of The New Gods for Warner Bros. and DC.
Deadline has the scoop, revealing that DuVernay is in advanced talks to bring Jack Kirby’s revered comic to the silver screen. The next port of call for Warner Bros. will be to lock down a writer, who will work in close collaboration with DuVernay to develop a story.
It’s also the latest $100 million-plus project for Ava DuVernay, who recently expressed her interest in The New Gods via Twitter. Asked to name her favorite superhero, the filmmaker name-dropped Big Barda, one of the New Gods and the wife of Mister Miracle, so it’s fair to say that today’s announcement has been long on the cards.
Also of note, Deadline’s report hints that The New Gods bears no affiliation with the other DC-related projects percolating at Warner Bros., so perhaps Ava DuVernay’s blockbuster will be able to stand on its own two feet? It’s certainly possible, as studio boss Toby Emmerich and the fresh-faced Walter Hamada are seemingly moving forward with a new approach to filmmakers on their DC-based fare, beginning with John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein on Flashpoint.
Whatever the case, here’s a refresher on the actual New Gods comic, courtesy of DC:
The New Gods, or the “Fourth World,” as it’s frequently known, were created by legendary comic book creator Jack Kirby, and initially debuted in a trilogy of related comics written and drawn by Kirby that were published in the very early 1970s: New Gods, Forever People and Mister Miracle. None of these comics ran for very long, but together they formed the groundwork to a universe with near limitless potential.
The New Gods are exactly that—they’re new gods. They came into existence after the world of the old gods, the gods of classical mythology, was destroyed during Ragnarok. The world of these known deities was split and became two separate planets, forever linked, but utterly different. One is called New Genesis and the other is Apokolips.
From Selma to A Wrinkle in Time to The New Gods? It’s quite the journey, and we’re hopeful that Ava DuVernay will get the chance to bring her own style and voice to the fledgling DC Extended Universe.