Promising Young Woman writer Emerald Fennell’s Zatanna film is no longer on HBO Max, but is being shopped to other streaming platforms.
HBO Max has canceled plans to platform Zatanna, a live-action adaptation of the DC comic book. The Zatanna movie is set to be part of the Justice League Dark initiative, a daring venture sponsored by Warner Bros. led by lesser-known heroes and enemies from the DC universe, led by JJ Abrams. If see through to completion, the Zatanna movie will be one of the few DC movies with a female lead.
Zatanna first appeared on the pages of DC comic books in 1964 as a mystical heroine in search of her father Giovanna Zatara, one of the first DC characters with supernatural abilities. Donning a wizard’s assistant costume, complete with fishing nets and a top hat, Zatanna can manipulate people and matter through spells cast by saying words backwards. The character has appeared alongside Batman and other members of the Justice League, but has maintained peripheral status in the DC universe with only a few live-action appearances on the small screen.
The Zatanna movie will be canceled at HBO Max and the team is actively looking for a new streaming partner, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The script for Zatanna is being written by multi-talented actress, writer, and director Emerald Fennell, who earned an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay as a writer behind Promising young woman. Zatanna is produced by JJ Abrams, but the captain of the Justice League Dark universe was helped with a double dose of bad news because both Zatanna And his Constantine reboot series were removed from the role of HBO Max.
What Zatanna Moving From HBO Max Means For Justice League Dark
The Justice League Dark project was first announced in 2020 as a collaboration between Abrams’ production company Bad Robot and Warner Bros. Though there has been much buzz about Abrams’ Justice League Dark universe, no content has appeared on screen so far, with some reports of creative differences stagnating it. The Zatanna movie reportedly still has the green light, but losing the host site before release brings back memories of the batgirl film, another female-led project that was scrapped even after it was shot and edited.
HBO Max cuts the Zatanna film from his network is an unequivocally negative sign for the project, but there are still many unknowns who may one day help save the project. If WB were able to attract a major star to portray Zatanna for the live-action film, it could spark public interest in the project, especially since some already have Dua Lipa and The WitcherAnya Chalotra’s as good candidates for the role. Zatanna will hopefully find a new streaming home soon and the start of the Justice League Dark projects.
Source: THR
