Ava DuVernay Confirms New Gods Character in Movie Script

Even though production on new movies and shows is shut down, development and writing on upcoming projects continues for the major studios. It’s unclear when we’ll get official updates on some of these films but that hasn’t stopped fans from asking for them anyway. On Twitter an enquiring fan asked filmmaker Ava DuVernay for any news she could share on the upcoming New Gods movie she’s been developing for Warner Bros., and the Academy Award nominee responded: “Because you asked so nicely… working on fourth draft of a scene featuring All Widow this week.”

This marks one of the very few characters that has been confirmed to appear in the film with DuVernay previously announcing that Darkseid, the tyrannical ruler of Apokolips, would appear along with the Female Furies, a group of women warriors. For those not in the loop of the vast web of characters and mythos that comes with the New Gods, All-Widow is the Queen of the insectoid creatures that live on the surface of the planet New Genesis. They’re typically looked upon as an inferior race by the titular New Gods.

DuVernay is co-writing the script for the film with none other than Tom King, who previously wrote the critically acclaimed, and New Gods-focused, maxi-series Mister Miracle for DC Comics. King previously opened up about working on the script with the director, telling Inverse last year: “I can verify my assumption from the beginning, now that I’ve seen Ava write, that she’s a modern-day genius in storytelling and finding emotional beats. It’s not a surprise but it’s a relief to know that your assumption is true.”

King, who is working on what could be the biggest project in his writing career, also explained that he is focusing on making the big screen superhero epic a “personal” story.

“I can tell you the biggest challenge of the whole thing is to make it personal and make it good. Not make the bureaucracy of Hollywood and comics and all that stuff get in the way of a singular vision of what this story is about, which is about Jack Kirby and his world.”

The New Gods does not yet have a release date from Warner Bros. Pictures but that work continues on the film is always a good sign that the studio is moving forward with further expansion of the World of DC on film. Warner Bros. has several “Untitled” film release dates set on their calendar, but with productions delayed around the world it remains to be seen when the film could go in front of cameras.