Earlier today, DC Films and Warner Bros. decided to pull the plug on two of DC Extended Universe projects that were supposed to expand the DC Films' lore of comic-book adaptations. The two projects were Ava DuVernay's helmed New Gods and James Wand and Peter Safran's Aquaman spin-off The Trench. While The Trench was a planned origin-cum-follow-up horror film focusing on the monster creatures of the sea featured in a specific sequence in 2018 Aquaman; New Gods would've taken DCEU to Apokolips and inter-planetary conflicts featuring Darkseid, Granny Goodness, and other Darkseifd rivals. However, Warner Bros. has announced that these films will be actively canceled for now, with hopes of rematerialization of the stories if DCEU's slate seems fit to include them in the future.
Out of the two films, Ava DuVernay's The New Gods was under speculations, with fans wondering how Ava would take up the New Gods storyline, which was teased in this year's Zack Snyder's Justice League. In response to the cancellation of her project, Ava DuVernay has tweeted her gratitude to her co-writer on the project, Tom King
Ava DuVernay revealed how she was planning to introduce characters like Big Barda, Izaya the Inheritor/Highfather, Mister Miracle/Scott Free, and Granny Goodness, the latter of which also marked her theatrical appearance debut in Zack Snyder's Justice League, although in just a minor cameo. Notably, DuVernay's New Gods would have been a direct adaptation of Jack Kirby's Fourth World comic book series and would have featured these supervillains on a collision course against each other.
Many are citing the appearance of Darkseid's character in Zack's Justice League as a possible reason for Warner Media canceling New Gods. Ever Snyder publicly revealed his plans for DCEU and the eventual release of the Snyder Cut, fans have been divisive of DuVernay's New Gods, with many considering her film contradictory to Snyder's original DCEU plans. Even Darkseid actor Ray Porter has come out in support of Ava DuVernay, warning toxic fans to "stop pestering" the Emmy-award-winning film-maker. Ava also responded to Ray's supportive teet, thanking him for his gracious gesture.
DuVernay has, however, probably not given up on hopes of New Gods, and neither has Warner Bros. explicitly thrown her project under the bus. In her reply to Ray Porter's tweet, she seemed hopeful of reuniting with him for a future DC-inspired project, if not Jack Kirby's New Gods. Warner Bros. has stated that the project development, though on hold, for now, can be taken up in the future when the studio feels the time is right. As of yet, Warner Bros. and DCEU are looking forward to the confirmed slate of films set to release in the next two years starting with James Gunn's The Suicide Squad. Moreover, DC Films have also lined up Matt Reeves' The Batman for release, with two sequels and a spin-off already greenlit.