A Wrinkle in Time director Ava DuVernay is finally taking on a superhero film! Variety reports that DuVernay will helm the movie adaptation of Jack Kirby’s comic New Gods, as part of an initiative to “creat[e] a new universe of properties for the studio.” New Gods will fit within the DC Extended Universe, DC Entertainment’s answer to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
First appearing in 1971, the New Gods hail from the twin planets New Genesis (idyllic, nature-filled) and Apokolips (ruined, dystopian, ruled by Darkseid) and consider themselves divine for their ability to exist outside of normal time and space. What they really are are genetically superior beings, evolved thanks to a primeval power known as the Source. In the intervening decades since their first appearance, and especially since being rebooted as part of DC Comics’ New 52 in 2011, the New Gods have crossed paths with Apokolips and Wonder Woman—perhaps giving hints as to the direction that Warner Bros. might go for their DCEU movie?
This deal has likely been in the works at least since last year, as DuVernay slyly tweeted a reference to Big Barda, one of the New Gods, during a Twitter AMA:
https://twitter.com/ava/status/946107644212789248
That’s the warrior who can trade blows with Wonder Woman:
After the New Gods news broke, she tweeted this:
https://twitter.com/ava/status/974430741961564161
Which of the New Gods would you want to see on the big screen?
I hope they do justice to the King.
Looking forward to this! Well, we definitely need Big Barda, Orion and Mister Miracle at the least. I could do without the Forever People, but whatever. As for the Apokolips contingent: gotta have Kalibak, Desaad and Granny Goodness (she’s a must!). I’m open to others. And I wouldn’t expect Darkseid to make anything more than a token appearance…
Darkseid must be central.
I would worry considering the mess she made of A Wrinkle in Time.
Maybe she’ll have more respect for this source material. You think?
I would watch a movie with just Mister Miracle and Big Barda as leads.
Whoa! This could be an incredible film. Let’s hope they do the source material justice.
I’ve always wanted to see a 60s-era period piece about the Forever People visiting Earth.
If you flip the genders of the leads, Jupiter Ascending would make a decent Mr. Miracle/Big Barda story.
And I’ve been thinking for a while now that Darkseid makes a better antagonist for Wonder Woman than he does for Superman; Marston’s original Wonder Woman was primarily a “Cosmic”-level superhero (as opposed to the Greek Mythology angle that subsequent writers have played up).
And the Furies make perfect sense if Darkseid conceived them specifically as Amazon-killers.
@8 – Cybersnark: If only Jupiter Ascending was a half-decent film…
The only reason I would expect Darkseid to only make a token appearance in this film is that I would expect the powers that be at DC/WB to want to save Darkseid for the Justice League, or Superman, or the like.