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Ava DuVernay's New Gods – the tale of the idyllic world of New Genesis and the dystopian Apokolips – and James Wan's Aquaman spin-off The Trench have been canceled by Warner Bros and DC Films.
The Hollywood Reporter broke the news, along with the following statement from the two studios: "As part of our DC slate, some legacy development titles including New Gods and The Trench will not be moving forward. 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."
Zack Snyder's Justice League played a role in the hold on New Gods, which also featured Darkseid as its villain. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the studios wanted to create more space between Darkseid appearances. DuVernay shared a heartfelt message on Twitter after the announcement.
Tom, I loved writing NEW GODS with you. 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 pic.twitter.com/XyyIjcB8WvApril 1, 2021
Luckily, we still have DuVernay's DC series Naomi, based on the 2019 comic book, to look forward to. As for The Trench, The Hollywood Reporter's sources say that, with Aquaman 2 shooting later this year with Wan's involvement, it was decided there might be enough Atlantean seawater sloshing around movie theaters for the time being.
Apparently, both projects could be resurrected in the future – superhero style – once DC has a little more room in the calendar for big new releases, but this decision frees up the directors to work on other projects. If you're hungry for more Aquaman-related content, check out all there is to know about the animated series headed to HBO Max.
