Highlights
- DC Studios scraps Zatanna movie amid DCU reboot, joining a growing list of canceled projects.
- James Gunn aims to bring Marvel-like interconnectedness to the DCEU, creating a new canon and cast.
- Fennel's "demented" script for Zatanna won't happen, but there may be a chance for an animated series in the future.
DCStudios has officially scrapped their upcoming Zatanna movie written by Saltburn director Emerald Fennell amid James Gunn's DCU reboot. The film has become another in a long string of cancelations, including the highly anticipated Nightwing movie by Chris McKay.
Gunn's overhaul of the DC universe aims to bring a Marvel-like interconnectedness to the previously disjointed DCEU. While some franchises like The Batman starring Robert Pattinson will be allowed to continue as Elseworlds projects, most DC films initially slated to release in the coming years have been shelved in favor of a completely new DCU canon and cast.
According to statements the filmmaker made on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Fennell's film, centered around the superheroine Zatanna, is no longer happening. “No, no, it’s not happening," Fennel said. "I did write it, but it was complicated, you know, the regimes changed. It’s the classic studio stuff ... I wrote in the end a script that was reasonably demented, in a good way, I think." Fennel spoke positively of her experience writing the "demented" script and her time with J.J. Abrams' company Bad Robot. "The whole universe got changed," the director continued. "And that’s fine. It was really fun to do, in the end."
Fennel said her Zatanna film would have been a superhero movie for non-superhero lovers. "It’s not a genre I naturally gravitate towards," she acknowledged, claiming the character of Zatanna drew her to the project outside her wheelhouse. Surprisingly, Fennel had started the script for Zatanna before her Oscar-winning film Promising Young Woman, when J.J. Abrams had first arrived at Warner Bros., and her DC film was to reboot what Fennel called "The Dark Universe." The exact timeline of the film's cancelation is unclear. However, Fennel's announcement confirms that Zatanna won't happen and adds it to a string of nearly twenty other DC films shelved due to the CEO changeover. The studios also scrapped JJ Abrams' Justice League Dark.
Fans were initially shocked by the scant film slate released for the upcoming DCU, but it seems Gunn may be taking a quality-over-quantity approach to new movies. This strategy may be due to recent audience fatigue and low box office numbers. It's the same approach Disney appears to be trying with Marvel and Star Wars. Superman: Legacy will be the first official DCU film, set to release in 2025, and it will kick off an entirely new cinematic universe, one more tightly controlled by Gunn's vision. The DC Studios co-CEO has also previously stated they will add additional series to the lineup and incorporate more animation to cut costs as the company struggles to recoup its losses from recent flops like Blue Beetle. Perhaps Zatanna and Fennel will someday get another chance to join the DCU with an animated series.
DC
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Source: Happy Sad Confused Podcast
