DC’s Wonder Woman Prequel and Amanda Waller Spinoff Both Reportedly Dead at HBO

The DC Universe has spent the last few years building toward something ambitious, a sprawling, interconnected slate of films and shows that James Gunn and Peter Safran promised would finally give Warner Bros. its answer to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. That vision always relied on filling out corners of the mythology beyond the usual heavy hitters like Superman and Batman.

Two of those corners were ‘Waller,’ the Viola Davis led spinoff exploring Amanda Waller’s ruthless government dealings, and ‘Paradise Lost,’ the long teased prequel series meant to unpack the history of Themyscira ahead of a Wonder Woman return. Both were part of the original ten project slate Gunn and Safran unveiled back in January 2023 under the banner Chapter One, Gods and Monsters.

Now, according to ComicBook.com, citing a new report from The Ankler, neither show is moving forward at Warner Bros. anymore. The Ankler describes the two projects as part of the noisy early slate that Gunn and Safran unveiled as they began rebuilding DC, with the report also revealing that HBO and DC have passed on other pitches, including projects centered on Poison Ivy and Catwoman. The news lands just days before ‘Lanterns’ premieres on HBO Max.

‘Waller‘ was designed to pick up threads left dangling by ‘Peacemaker,’ following the fallout after Amanda Waller’s daughter exposed Task Force X to the public. The series, developed by Watchmen writer Christal Henry and Doom Patrol creator Jeremy Carver, initially aimed to explore the fallout from Peacemaker’s first season finale, where Waller’s daughter Leota Adebayo exposed Task Force X to the public. However, the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes forced significant rewrites to accommodate the new DCU timeline, delaying production indefinitely.

‘Paradise Lost’ has had an even bumpier road to this point, having been declared dead once before and then walked back. Gunn addressed cancellation rumors on Threads earlier this year, flatly denying them and saying “Definitely not” when asked if the show was being shelved. He had previously told Entertainment Weekly the project was still alive, if slow going, saying it was moving along and that he genuinely loved the project.

Whether that reassurance still holds is now in question. Insider reporting elsewhere had already suggested ‘Paradise Lost’ was losing steam internally, with DC said to have informed writers the project was no longer in active development even as attention shifted toward a Wonder Woman reboot penned by Ana Nogueira, who previously wrote ‘Supergirl.’

Adding to the uncertainty is the ongoing corporate chaos at Warner Bros. Discovery, which agreed to a roughly one hundred eleven billion dollar acquisition by Paramount Skydance that remains tangled in regulatory and legal challenges. There is no confirmed link between that deal and these cancellations, but the timing has fueled plenty of fan speculation about just how stable the DCU’s television plans really are.

For a franchise that promised a decade long blueprint, losing two more of its original ten projects is a rough look, even with ‘Lanterns’ about to make its debut. Do you think Amanda Waller and Themyscira deserved their own spotlight, or was the DCU better off narrowing its focus to Wonder Woman herself?