Ava DuVernay Has Hinted That Zack Snyder’s Justice League Is Why New Gods Was Cancelled

Ava DuVernay, who was set to direct DC’s New Gods and write the script alongside Rebirth-era Batman comics writer Tom King, has strongly hinted that Zack Snyder’s Justice League was to blame for the film not making it to theaters.

DuVernay, who also directed Selma and A Wrinkle In Time, was speaking to Andy Cohen on his SiriusXM show when she shared a bit about New Gods cancellation, her experience with DC, and getting the freedom to pick the story she wanted to tell.

“You know, my overall deal was at Warner Brothers and DC is at Warner Brothers,” DuVernay said. “So, once I got to Warner Brothers, I was like, ‘I’m going in that vault and I’m looking at what y’all got.’ And I loved New Gods, which is the project that got axed. The studio decided that they did not want to pursue a certain part of that comic world, based on some things that were going on with another film in that world.

“So, before I even was able to kind of complete my script with Tom King, they axed it. But I had already two projects going: Naomi, which will be on The CW next year, and DMZ, which will be on HBO Max next year.”

While she didn’t name it specifically, the film she was referring to was most likely Zack Snyder’s Justice League, as it was being worked on during the time New Gods would have been and both films have one very big connection – Darkseid.

Darkseid himself is a New God and was the ruler of Apokolips who became obsessed with the Anti-Life Equation. Darkseid was teased in both Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and 2017’s Justice League, but he made his big-screen debut in Zack Snyder’s Justice League. It appears DC did not want both Snyder’s story and DuVernay’s crossing over, so New Gods was shelved.

This outcome was hinted at when it was reported that New Gods was cancelled, as “DC Films reportedly felt there wouldn’t be enough space between Justice League and New Gods, which also planned to feature Darkseid as a central antagonist.”

Despite New Gods being frozen for now, DC Films and WB are leaving the door open for its return. Furthermore, DC Films and WB have said, were it to go forward again, the project will “remain in their skillful hands if they were to move forward in the future.”

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Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.