Exclusive: Zatanna Movie In Danger Of Being Cancelled
According to our trusted and proven sources, Warner Bros is starting to doubt the magic in a live-action solo Zatanna movie.
Updated November 2022: This Giant Freakin Robot exclusive was confirmed with the DC Universe resetting under James Gunn and company. That meant the studio moving on from the Zatanna movie plans. There’s still a chance it happens down the line, but it isn’t in the current DC timeline.
All the way back in March of 2021, Warner Bros announced that it was developing a live-action Zatanna movie. There has been little word of what is going on with that particular project since except for some rumors of casting and a whole lot of fan art of different actresses that could potentially play DC’s premiere top-hatted mistress of magic arts. However, according to our trusted and proven sources, Warner Bros is considering canceling the Zatanna movie.
The original announcement for the Zatanna live-action movie was that it was being written by award-winning filmmaker Emerald Fennell, though it was unclear whether she was being considered to direct it as well. There was also no official announcement of an actor cast to play the lead role, though Game of Thrones’ Emilia Clarke was a hotly discussed contender. All of this might be for naught, though, if Warner Bros decided to can the project.
We can only speculate on the reasons why DC’s parent company might not be eager to push forward on the Zatanna movie. For one, there is the question of name recognition: Zatanna is a classic mid-tier comic book character without a lot of penetration into pop culture as a whole. She was created by Gardner Fox and artist Murphy Anderson and first appeared in a 1964 issue of Hawkman; Zatanna was originally conceived of as the daughter of a Golden Age superhero named Zatara, who is even less well known now.
The general hook of Zatanna’s character is that she is a former stage illusionist who realizes she can actually do magic for real thanks to her missing father and eventually becomes one of the DC universe’s most powerful magic wielders (and most expert backward-talkers). In theory, this is a pretty good origin story for a Zatanna movie. And it’s not like anyone knew who John Cena’s Peacemaker was before James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, and he is quickly becoming one of the DCEU’s biggest draws.
Alternately, it could simply be that a Zatanna movie might be a casualty of corporate restructuring. Since the recent merger of Warner Bros’ parent company with Discovery, Inc to former WarnerMedia, a lot of projects and launches have been thrown into doubt or outright canceled (farewell, CNN+!) It would not be beyond the realm of possibility that a lesser-known character like Zatanna is not considered prime material for a solo movie (at least right off the bat).
There is also the question of magic users in the cinematic DCEU. There has not been a lot of established magic happening in the movies so far, and previous attempts to get a Justice League Dark off the ground have not gone well. Zatanna has long been associated with the Justice League in comics and animation, so a Zatanna movie might necessitate some kind of springboard to get the more magical side of DC onscreen first. It would be a pity for the Zatanna movie to be completely scrapped, as Emerald Fennell has shown that she has a fascinating ability to merge dark storytelling and humor, both of which could be great for the character. We will keep you updated.
