Ava DuVernay has another big budget adaptation on the way. The “Wrinkle in Time” director is taking DC Comics’ “The New Gods” to the big screen, Deadline reports. The pic will mark the second Warner Bros/DC superhero franchise helmed by a woman — Patty Jenkins’ box office smash “Wonder Woman” was the first.
“‘The New Gods’ was the Genesis of the uber-villain Darkseid,” the source explains. “Also called ‘Fourth World,’ the [Jack] Kirby creation debuted in a trilogy of related comics … 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, which sounds like Dante’s version of hell. War ensues.”
Kario Salem (“Chasing Mavericks”) is penning the script.
“A Wrinkle in Time” made history as the first live-action film with a budget over $100 million directed by a woman of color. “The New Gods” also boasts $100 million-plus budget.
Duvernay’s recent credits include Oscar-nominated features “13th,” a doc exploring the connection between slavery and mass incarceration in the United States, and Martin Luther King Jr. biopic “Selma.” The “Queen Sugar” creator famously turned down the opportunity to direct “Black Panther” because she and Marvel “just didn’t see eye to eye.” “Is this important enough for me to do?” she asked herself at the time. “Are these people I want to go to bed with? This would be three years of not doing other things that are important to me.” Looks like Warner Bros/DC convinced her that “The New Gods” was worth the major time commitment.
Now in theaters, “A Wrinkle in Time” follows a girl’s epic journey through time and space to find her missing scientist father.
A Netflix miniseries about the Central Park Five and a TV adaptation of Octavia Butler’s “Dawn” are among DuVernay’s upcoming projects.
Other women directors with comic adaptations on the way include Anna Boden (“Captain Marvel”), Gina Prince-Bythewood (“Silver & Black”), and Andrea Berloff (“The Kitchen”).
