Fresh off the release of A Wrinkle in Time, the film which made her the first woman of color to direct a live-action project with a production budget of $100 million or more, Ava DuVernay will helm the adaptation of DC’s New Gods, according to Variety.
Based on the comic book first created by Jack Kirby in 1971, New Gods tells the story of twin planets, New Genesis and Apokolips, which come from opposite sides of the spectrum. The twin planets split into two after the destruction of their original home during Ragnarok. While New Genesis, which is ruled by Highfather, comes off as a paradise, Apokolips is something similar to hell, and ruled by Darkseid.
Back in December, DuVernay teased a possible connection to New Gods when she responded to a fan’s question about her favorite superhero. “Gosh, that’s hard,” she responded. “Big Barda. Many reasons.”
Big Barda is one of the New Gods, which is part of DC’s Extended Universe.
DuVernay will become the second woman to direct a DC franchise, joining Patty Jenkins who was in charge of bringing Wonder Woman to the big screen. Jenkins and Gal Gadot will return for the film's sequel which is slated for a Nov. 1, 2019 release.
With New Gods, DuVernay continues to carve out an already impressive resume which includes directing the Oscar-nominated Netflix documentary 13th, as well as creating and executive producing the OWN series Queen Sugar.
