Buried in Mashable’s recent report about Zack and Deborah Snyder and their reduced role in the DC Extended Universe beyond Justice League was an all-too-brief reference to Gotham City Sirens and, specifically, David Ayer’s involvement in the ensemble project – or lack thereof.
The female-fronted DC spinoff was nowhere to be seen at San Diego Comic-Con this past weekend – not even as part of Warner Bros.’ sizzle reel, which featured nine of the studio’s upcoming superhero tentpoles – leading many to believe that Gotham City Sirens has been placed on ice. Well, according to Mashable’s sources, there’s a very good reason for that: David Ayer is no longer developing the project for Warner Bros.
It’s worth noting that the director’s representative strongly denied those allegations, with Mashable noting that, “Ayer’s rep flatly denied that he’s off the project, saying it’s still in development and that the script is not yet complete.”
Last we reported, Gotham City Sirens was expected to commence production late next year ahead of a possible release in 2019, but it appears those plans have since been shelved in favor of Shazam. David Sandberg’s standalone pic, one that definitely won’t herald the debut of Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam, is purportedly next in line to enter production. This, coupled with those latest claims asserting that Ayer is no longer attached to Gotham City Sirens, certainly casts doubt over the film’s tentative (albeit unofficial) release window.
For what it’s worth, David Ayer, who was in town to promote his fantasy epic Bright, recently walked away from Universal’s Scarface remake, so perhaps the filmmaker has his heart set on a new, as-yet-unrevealed project? Assuming this is indeed the case, and Ayer won’t be involved in Gotham City Sirens whatsoever, it’ll also scupper that potential reunion with Margot Robbie (Suicide Squad), who is all set to produce and headline the female-led crossover as Harley Quinn.
With the exception of Robbie, Gotham City Sirens is without an official cast at the time of writing, and it would appear that the movie is now on the hunt for a new director. We will, as always, keep you right up-to-date as this story unfolds.