The DC Extended Universe’s original plans for the Fourth World mythology may not have panned out, but that doesn’t mean Jack Kirby’s creations are being abandoned on the silver screen. A New Gods movie is in development, and the director, Ava DuVernay, is currently working on the script with comic book writer Tom King, who has some experience with these Gods through his Mister Miracle series.
We’re a long ways off from learning any specifics about New Gods, but according to Tom King, this project is in good hands with Ava DuVernay, with the writer calling the filmmaker a genius. As King put it:
I feel like I have this genius, Jack Kirby, who created this [series] and this genius Ava DuVernay. I see them as parallel figures, both taking their uniquely American backgrounds and using them to push American art forward into places it’s never been before. I feel like it’s job to bring those two geniuses to together and to make it work.
Tom King commended Ava DuVernay while speaking with Publisher’s Weekly, and to compare her to Jack Kirby, one of the comic book medium’s most important and influential figures, is high praise indeed. The way King sees it, DuVernay and Kirby’s similar backgrounds and career paths making her uniquely suited to tackle this gigantic corner of the DC Comics mythology.
Ava DuVernay already has some experience in the sci-fi realm through last year’s A Wrinkle in Time, and her other notable work includes 2014’s Selma and the Netflix miniseries When They See Us. It’s safe to say that New Gods will be her biggest project yet, but Tom King believes she’s the right person to shine the spotlight on these characters.
As mentioned earlier, the Fourth World mythology has already been partially explored through Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League, with the latter movie showing Steppenwolf leading an army of Parademons to retrieve the three Mother Boxes left on Earth and turn our world into a duplicate of Apokolips. Darkseid was also supposed to be introduced in the movie to lay the groundwork for Justice League sequels, but in the theatrical cut, he was only mentioned once.
Since the interconnectivity of the DCEU is largely being abandoned in favor of standalone stories, it’s unclear if New Gods will build off the events of Justice League or if it’s starting from scratch. If it’s the latter, then we’ll likely be introduced to a different version of Steppenwolf. Regardless, it’s looking like New Gods is one of the DC movies that stands a legitimate chance of moving forward rather than languishing in development hell.
It was announced that Ava DuVernay will direct New Gods back in March 2018, and Tom King’s involvement was revealed this past May. DuVernay confirmed that Darkseid and the Female Furies will appear, meaning the rumors of Mister Miracle and Granny Goodness showing up too are probably on the mark.
New Gods doesn’t have a release date yet, so stay tuned to CinemaBlend for that information and other updates on the project’s development. For now, find out what other DC movies are in the works with our handy guide.
