Warner Bros said it has shelved the DC Comics adaptations New Gods and The Trench.
New Gods involved the supervillain Darkseid and was being developed by acclaimed filmmaker Ava DuVernay and comic book writer Tom King.
The Trench was an Aquaman spin-off from director James Wan and producer Peter Safran.
Tom, I loved writing NEW GODS with you. I’m upset that the saga of Barda, Scott, Granny, Highfather and The Furies ends this way. Diving into Kirby’s Fourth World was the adventure of a lifetime. That can’t be taken away. Thank you for your friendship. And remember… #DarkseidIs pic.twitter.com/XyyIjcB8Wv
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) April 1, 2021
In a statement, Warner Bros said: “As part of our DC slate, some legacy development titles including New Gods and The Trench will not be moving forward.
“We thank our partners Ava DuVernay, Tom King, James Wan and Peter Safran for their time and collaboration during this process and look forward to our continued partnership with them on other DC stories. The projects will remain in their skilful hands if they were to move forward in the future.”
New Gods was set to feature the Fourth World characters created by the influential comic book artist Jack Kirby.
The characters recently appeared in Zack Snyder’s Justice League.
Reacting to the film being shelved, DuVernay shared a picture of herself alongside King and wrote: “Tom, I loved writing NEW GODS with you. I’m upset that the saga of Barda, Scott, Granny, Highfather and The Furies ends this way.
“Diving into Kirby’s Fourth World was the adventure of a lifetime. That can’t be taken away. Thank you for your friendship.”
Upcoming DC films from Warner Bros include The Suicide Squad, The Batman and Black Adam.