New Gods: Ava DuVernay ‘upset’ as DC film is shelved indefinitely by Warner Bros

Warner Bros also announced that James Wan’s Aquaman spin-off was no longer in development

Ava DuVernay’s highly anticipated DC Comics film New Gods has been shelved indefinitely by Warner Bros, it was announced on Thursday (1 April).

Based on Jack Kirby’s Fourth World stories, New Gods is set in a world where the “old gods” of mythology are killed off and replaced by superhero-esque new gods, not all of whom are good.

DuVernay’s involvement in the project was first announced in March 2018, but Warner Bros announced this week that the film, along with James Wan’s Aquaman spin-off The Trench, were no longer in development.

“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 a 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.”

Reacting to the news on Twitter, When They See Us director DuVernay said that she was “upset” as she shared a picture with co-writer Tom King.

“Tom, I loved writing NEW GODS with you,” she wrote.

“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. And remember... #DarkseidIs.”

Responding, King tweeted: “Ava! I’m so incredibly proud of the work we did, it was such a joy seeing you bring your passion and talent to these characters.

“I really felt Kirby’s legacy was being honoured here and I wish we could’ve kept going. That one Barda/Scott scene where…damn.”