MOVIE NEWS – Amid James Gunn’s DCU reboot, another long-awaited DC movie was cancelled, and the writer shared details about the “messy” cancelled movie…

DC Studios has officially cancelled the upcoming Zatanna movie written by Saltburn director Emerald Fennell. All this took place amid James Gunn’s DCU reboot. The film became another in a long line of cancellations. Including the highly anticipated Nightwing movie designed by Chris McKay.

James Gunn’s overhaul of the DC universe aims to bring Marvel-like coherence to the previously fragmented DCEU.

Some franchises, such as The Batman starring Robert Pattinson, may continue as “Elseworlds” projects. But most of the DC movies that were initially slated for release in the coming years have been shelved in favour of the all-new DCU canon and cast.

According to statements on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Fennell’s film, which centres on 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.”

According to Fennel, her Zatanna movie would have been a superhero movie, but not for superhero lovers. “It’s not a genre I naturally gravitate towards,” she admitted. She claimed that it was Zatanna’s character that drew him to the project, which was outside of his purview. Surprisingly, Fennel started writing Zatanna before the Oscar-winning film Promising Young Woman. When J.J. Abrams first came to Warner Bros, and his DC film would have been a reboot of what Fennel called a “Dark Universe.” The exact timeline of the film’s cancellation is unclear. However, Fennel’s announcement confirms that Zatanna will not happen, adding to the nearly twenty other DC films that have been shelved due to the CEO change. The studios also cancelled JJ Abrams’ Justice League Dark.

Fans were initially shocked by the dearth of DCU movies coming out next year, but Gunn seems to be focusing on quality over quantity when it comes to new movies.

This strategy is due to recent audience fatigue and low box office numbers. Disney seems to be trying to take the same approach with Marvel and Star Wars. Superman: Legacy will be the first official DCU movie. It will be presented in 2025. It kicks off a whole new cinematic universe, driven even more tightly by James Gunn’s vision. The DC Studios co-CEO also previously said they would add more series and incorporate more animation to cut costs as the company struggles to recoup losses from recent flops like Blue Beetle. Maybe Zatanna and Fennel will get a chance to join the DCU in an animated series one day.

Source: YouTube