DC Cancelled Their Doctor Strange Replacement Movie For Being Too Dark

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DC has abandoned its plans for a movie about the magician Zatanna, and now we know why. Zatanna is similar to Marvel’s Doctor Strange – a powerful magic user who battles evil supernatural forces. In 2021, DC Films and J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot brought on Emerald Fennell to write a script for a Zatanna movie, but the project was ultimately canceled.

Emerald Fennell, the creator of shows like Killing Eve and the film Promising Young Woman, is now working on Wuthering Heights. She hasn’t often spoken about her plans for a Zatanna project, but recently shared some new information with Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast.

Fennell described her script for Zatanna as intensely chaotic and quite grim, centering around a woman experiencing a severe mental health crisis. She believes the script deviated too much from typical superhero stories, which may be why it was never filmed.

Emerald Fennell described her recent work as a bit ‘demented,’ explaining it likely reflected her own emotional state at the time. Having just finished ‘Promising Young Woman,’ she was suddenly working on a large-scale superhero film – a world she wasn’t familiar with. She approached the project by asking herself how to create a superhero movie that felt genuinely emotionally resonant, ultimately envisioning a protagonist experiencing a nervous breakdown.

The script portrays a woman experiencing a severe emotional crisis. It felt too intense and bleak for the intended genre, and I found it quite challenging to read, so I haven’t revisited it in a long time.

Fennell discussed Zatanna on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, explaining she wasn’t very familiar with superhero movies. She approached the project wanting to create something accessible, “a movie for people like me who don’t know much” about the genre.

I’m not very familiar with superhero movies. They aren’t usually my kind of film, so I was curious to learn how a movie could be made to appeal to people like me – those who aren’t already fans and might not be sure about seeing it.

A Zatanna movie was being developed while J.J. Abrams was working with Warner Bros. on a Justice League Dark universe. This universe would have highlighted characters like Zatanna and Constantine, and Abrams was particularly interested in a darker take on superhero stories for this project. However, when James Gunn and Peter Safran became the heads of DC Studios, DC decided to reboot its entire superhero film universe, and those plans were changed.

Could Emerald Fennell’s Zatanna Make a Comeback?

Emerald Fennell has gained recognition for her distinctive style in projects like Promising Young Woman, Killing Eve, and Saltburn. Her work frequently blends dark humor with suspense, often delving into themes of obsession, characters with questionable ethics, and unexpected twists on familiar story types.

Based on Emerald Fennell’s description, her Zatanna film would have been a clever twist on the superhero genre. Although a fascinating concept, it likely wouldn’t have appealed to the broad audience typically drawn to superhero movies, potentially leading to the project being put on hold. However, there’s still a chance Fennell might revisit the idea in the future.

DC Studios is proving it’s willing to let filmmakers pursue unique and potentially darker ideas, moving beyond just family-friendly content. In late 2026, they’ll release Clayface, a horror film originally written by Mike Flanagan. This movie will offer a different tone than other DC projects like Superman, Supergirl, and Peacemaker, which follow a more traditional superhero formula.

Emerald Fennell’s idea for a Zatanna movie – one that focuses more on her inner life and has a darker, more personal tone – could be a fresh and distinctive take on the character. This approach might be exactly what DC Studios needs as they build out their universe of films, helping it stand apart from other superhero movies in development.

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2026-02-13 19:35