The DC live-action universe has had a fascinating tenure in theaters, full of both peaks and valleys. Zack Snyder was the architect of the franchise's beginning stages, starting with 2013's Man of Steel, and eventually expanding with Batman v Superman and Justice League. While he's since stepped down from the DCEU, you can't deny his vision helped kickstart the entire shared universe.
Man of Steel started it all, and took a major departure from Superman's comic book persona, allowing him to kill the villainous General Zodd during the film's conclusion. The movie also started Amy Adams' tenure as Lois Lane, although Zack Snyder recently revealed that there was another actress in the mix originally: Zoe Saldana. As Snyder recently revealed:
At a time, it was between her and Zoe Saldana. They’re totally different, but their presence is super strong.
Well, this is an exciting concept. While Amy Adams put her typical acting talent into the role the iconic reporter/love interest, it's intriguing to hear that Zoe Saldana could have filled the role at one point.
Zack Snyder's comments to Comic Book Debate might come as a surprise to some fans, as Amy Adams has become fairly synonymous with the role of Lois Lane. Still, Zoe Saldana has already proven herself to be the queen of sci-fi, so what's another major franchise to add to her schedule? Although her involvement with DC might have had the potential to exclude her from playing Gamora in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Related: Why Playing Lois Lane Is Tricky, According To Amy Adams
If Zoe Saldana somehow managed to to get the job in Man of Steel, that be a whopping fourth major franchises for the actress to play the female lead in. At that point, she'd already nabbed the role of Neytiri in Avatar, as well as playing Uhura in the Star Trek movies. Plus we can't forget her role as Gamora in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, appearing in both the Guardians and Avengers movies.
Of course, Amy Adams did great as Lois Lane, playing a more badass version of the character than we'd previously seen on the silver screen. Following Man of Steel, Adams would reprise her role in Batman v Superman and Justice League. Although it's currently unclear if her tenure in the CEU has come to an end.
Following the poor box office and critical performance of Justice League, the DC Universe has seemingly taken a step away from serialized storytelling, instead allowing directors more autonomy over capsulated blockbusters. But that change has also brought the end to the OG DCEU characters like Ben Affleck's Batman.
Ben Affleck has officially hung up the cowl as Batman, and Superman actor Henry Cavill has been long rumored to be done with his superpowered role forever. Amy Adams doesn't appear to have any plans to return to the DCEU, so fans may have also seen the last of her Lois Lane as well.
While she might not have gotten the role of Lois Lane, it should be interesting to see what's coming down the pipeline for Zoe Saldana. Her reign as the current sci-fi queen doesn't seem to be stopping soon-- at least where two of her iconic roles are concerned. Plus there's no guarantee that she won't eventually jump to the DC side of things for another role in the DC Extended Universe.
Zoe Saldana will return to theaters with either Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 or Avatar 2. Because Marvel Studios hasn't revealed its plans for Phase Four (yet), it's unclear when the highly anticipated Guardians threequel will be released, once again allowing Saldana to play the fiercest woman in the galaxy-- Gamora.
Guardians 3 was originally going to be one of the first installments in Phase Four of the MCU, but production was put on indefinite hold after director James Gunn was fired by Disney last July. This put the future of the Guardians franchise in jeopardy for a number of months, although Gunn has since been reinstated to his directing role.
Spoilers ahead for Avengers: Endgame.
Narratively, Zoe Saldana should be able to take her signature Marvel character to new places with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Gamora as we knew her died in Infinity War, murdered by Thanos so he could procure the Soul Stone. But she was revived in Endgame through some tricky storytelling-- specifically time travel.
By the end of Endgame, 2014 Gamora had joined the good guys, and was last seen on the battlefield of the final fight. Her fate was left unclear, although the Guardians (Asguardians?) are seemingly on a mission to track the green girl down.
Zoe Saldana will finally reprise her Avatar role in the upcoming sequel, which has been pushed back innumerable times by James Cameron. The original film is the highest grossing movie in history, and Saldana played Na'vi royalty Neytiri through motion capture and stunning visual affects. The public has been waiting over a decade for Cameron's sequels, and his leading actress has the chance to star in yet another big money blockbuster.
The gap in time between the Avatar movies might have the potential to hamper its ticket sales, although the franchise's attraction at Disney parks has kept the conversation going. We'll just have to wait and see what James Cameron is planning, and how many Avatar movies actually get the green light from the studio-- especially now that Disney has the rights to the property.
Then there's the Star Trek franchise, and Zoe Saldana's role as Uhura. 2016's Star Trek Beyond wasn't the success the studio had been hoping for, and the cast is unclear whether or not they'll get another installment. Add in the death of Anton Yelchin, and the current Star Trek series is left totally in the air.
The next installment in the DCEU is Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) on February 7, 2020. And you can check out Zoe Saldana in Avengers: Endgame now. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
