As new DC Studios chiefs James Gunn and Peter Safran finalise their multi-year plan for DC’s future for the next decade, hard choices are being made.
According to THR, the pair are expected to meet with Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav next week to lay out their vision of what’s to come, and the first details have emerged.
Multiple sources tell the trade that Patty Jenkins’ third “Wonder Woman” film is considered ‘dead’ and is not moving forward. Jenkins and co-writer Geoff Johns recently submitted a treatment, and Warners co-CEOs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy broke the news to the filmmaker, saying her project did not fit in with the new plan.
What this means for the future of the character and actress Gal Gadot’s portrayal of the role is unclear.
The rest of DC remains in question, with the shuttering of the Snyder-verse a good possibility. That means everyone from Jason Momoa as Aquaman to Henry Cavill as Superman are out.
Both are set to cameo in “The Flash” next Summer, with Cavill having shot his in September, but there’s reportedly debate within the studio as to whether or not to keep the cameo and if its inclusion promises something that the studio can’t deliver.
No plans have been finalised yet, but the Cavill situation is complicated as he’s talked publicly about his return to the role and already did a cameo in “Black Adam”.
Warners was indeed developing a sequel to 2013’s “Man of Steel” and was actively meeting with writers about it. That changed with the Gunn/Safran hiring, and it is now looking unlikely. The same goes for a “Black Adam” sequel which – even with ancillary revenue – will be lucky to break even. Johnson has been on the offensive against that narrative today with a piece in Deadline talking about the film’s potential for profit.
Momoa meanwhile, could end up surviving the shift in much the same way Chris Evans made the jump from Fox-Marvel to Disney’s MCU. Should his “Aquaman” sequel prove Momoa’s final outing, he could return as foul-mouthed cigar-chomping intergalactic bounty hunter Lobo.
One thing that is expected to be unaffected is Matt Reeves’ “The Batman”-verse which will continue as is with both a sequel and the upcoming “The Penguin” TV series for HBO.
More is expected to be known in the coming weeks.
