DC’s James Gunn Quickly Debunks Amanda Waller Rumor

Ever since James Gunn took over the reigns at DC Studios with Peter Safran the filmmaker has made one thing clear, he won’t tolerate any false gossip to spread. Gunn was asked on Threads about a recent rumor from YouTube that the Amanda Waller TV series had been cancelled. It all started when an account called Jody’s Corner claimed that the Amanda Waller show, spinning out of Peacemaker and featuring Viola Davis, had been cancelled for budgetary reasons. When asked about it directly, Gunn didn’t mince words, writing: “It’s bullsh-t. Waller is still being written by Christal and Jeremy.”

The Amanda Waller TV series was first revealed last summer as being in the works, but its existence was confirmed back in January when Gunn revealed the full slate for the DCU’s first chapter. Waller was actually the second project announced by Gunn, seemingly teasing that it will arrive early in the slate of “Chapter 1 – Gods and Monsters,” announcing its existence just after the animated Creature Commandos. 

“This is a story of Amanda Waller who is played by Viola Davis,” Gunn said earlier this year. “Viola Davis is going to team up with members of Team Peacemaker and this is a story that’s been created by Crystal Henry who did Watchman and Jeremy Carver who created Doom Patrol. It is a fantastic story that’s out of this world and I can’t wait for people to see it.”

Creature Commandos and Waller weren’t the only television shows announced for the DCU, with others confirmed including Lanterns, a Green Lantern-focused series; Paradise Lost, a Game of Thrones-esque series set on Themyscira; and Booster Gold, a comedy featuring the DC hero. The feature films confirmed for the DCU’s Chapter 1 include Superman: Legacy, The Authority, The Brave and the Bold (featuring the DCU’s version of Batman, separate from Robert Pattinson’s The Batman), Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, and Swamp Thing.

Viola Davis made her debut as Amanda Waller in 2016’s Suicide Squad, returning for the 2021 follow-up The Suicide Squad, and even this year’s. Having appeared in a few episodes of Peacemaker as well, Davis is set to lend her voice to the Creature Commandos series in addition to starring in her own show. She marks one of the few characters that will survive the transition from the DCEU set of movies to the all-new DCU.

“As a comic book and Wonder Woman fan, I love the whole DC Comics universe,” Davis previously told The Hollywood Reporter of portraying Waller. “I traded comic books as a kid so all of that appeals to me. When you dream about being an actor as a kid, that’s what you dream about. That’s like play acting: being the superhero, getting the gun; it plays into that fantasy.”