Many of the Jack Kirby fans that were disappointed that there was no Darkseid appearance in the recent Justice League movie will be pleased that Warner Bros. has decided to move ahead on a New Gods feature film. They have chosen their director by asking Ava DuVernay to call the shots behind the director’s chair.
She made history as the first woman of color to helm a $100 million-plus live-action film in A Wrinkle In Time and is closing a deal with Warner Bros and DC to direct a big-budget screen adaptation of The New Gods, the brainchild of the great comic book creator Jack Kirby. The studio has set Kario Salem (Chasing Mavericks) as the writer; he’ll guide the narrative and work with DuVernay.
This is quite a leap for DC Films after the poor reception of the New God Steppenwolf as the villain of the Justice League movie. What connection this will have with the existing DC cinematic world is not clear yet but studio boss Toby Emmerich and his newly installed DC production president Walter Hamada are moving forward with a new approach to filmmaking on their DC-based characters.
This is a bold move for Warner Bros/DC and not just because this is the second superhero franchise they’ve handed to a female director after Patty Jenkins but it is unlike the movies in the past. This is a story by Kirby that originates in different worlds called “Fourth World”. The Kirby creation debuted in a trilogy of related comics written and drawn by Kirby that were published in the very early 1970s: New Gods, Forever People, and Mister Miracle. The New Gods came into existence after the world of the gods of classic mythology were destroyed during Ragnarok. The deities inhabit two planets: one is New Genesis, a lush paradise, and the other Apokolips, a hellish world of fire ruled by Darkseid.
Ava DuVernay revealed a New Gods connection late last year when she responded to a question on social media on who her favorite superhero is. “Big Barda. Many reasons” was her reply. Big Barda is one of the New Gods and the wife of Mister Miracle, also a Kirby creation.
This surprise announcement is not without its challenges but could go a long way to restore the interest of movie fans for the DC brand of live action movies. Everyone agrees good movies are what will improve DC Films popularity. It may be a while yet before we here more details but we will be here for you at Comics Talk. Stay tuned for more. 🙂 Walt
Only fans know the New Gods and very few care about them why are they making this movie?