Wuthering Heights’ director Emerald Fennell has shared new details about a canceled DC movie. In a recent interview, she described her version of the project as dark and emotionally intense. 

Emerald Fennell on her canceled DC Zatanna movie

Emerald Fennell has opened up about her canceled DC project centered on Zatanna. In a recent appearance on Happy Sad Confused, the writer reflected on the project’s darker direction and why it never moved forward.

Fennell was asked about previously describing the screenplay as “super demented.” She explained that the tone was closely related to her own emotional state at the time. “I think it was demented because I was probably going through it at the time,” she said. Fennell noted that she had just completed Promising Young Woman and was entering the superhero space for the first time.

Fennell tried to craft a project that’s more personal, describing the script as “the woman in the middle of a nervous breakdown.” She later acknowledged that it may have been “a little too far away from the genre.” Fennell also admitted that she has not revisited the script in years. “It was really dark,” she said.

The writer added that she found it difficult to re-read the script because she felt she had not fully delivered what was expected. She spoke warmly of J. J. Abrams, who had offered her the opportunity, saying, “I love JJ so much.”

The film had been set up under J. J. Abrams’ Bad Robot banner during his early period at Warner Bros., when the studio was considering expanding its Justice League Dark slate. In the previous interview, she said, “It was when JJ Abrams had just arrived at Warner Bros., and they were going to reboot the [Justice League] Dark Universe. It was complicated because the regime, things change… It’s all classic studio stuff.”