Zach Cregger Says His Gotham City Script “Doesn’t Really Fit” in the Current DC Universe
Following the breakout success of Weapons, filmmaker Zach Cregger has become one of the most-watched directors in Hollywood.
After turning suburban nightmares into cinematic terror, he’s now gearing up for his untitled Resident Evil project, which he describes as more of a heartfelt nod to the games rather than a direct adaptation. But when it comes to his long-rumored DC Comics project, Cregger just gave fans an update that’s not so encouraging.
Years ago, word got out that Cregger had written a script titled Henchman. The story focused on a low-level Gotham thug who unexpectedly takes down Batman and quickly finds himself in way over his head.
The idea sounded like a gritty, street-level twist on the superhero genre, but Cregger has always played down the speculation around it. In a new interview with Screen Rant, he revealed that while he still believes in the script, the timing just isn’t right.
“I love the script. I still love that script, but that IP, that Gotham City IP is the most coveted thing. And right now, there's a lot of people that have their own kind of flavor.
“You've got Matt Reeves and what he's doing with it, and you've got James Gunn and his DC universe – there's just all this stuff.
“It is a very kind of crowded playing field, and my movie, I don't think it really fits into any of that. And so it's fine. I have no problem with the state of things with DC.”
It’s not like DC audiences are starving for Gotham-based stories. We’ve already seen different versions of Batman coexist on the big screen, two films led by Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker, and a Clayface movie reportedly on the way.
Fans are more open than ever to standalone projects that don’t directly tie into James Gunn’s developing cinematic universe. But for Cregger, pushing Henchman into that mix isn’t worth the uphill battle, at least not right now.
“It's great, but I understand the hurdles that would be in front of me if I tried to get that movie going next. And so what I think I'm going to do is – I haven't shared it with James Gunn or anyone over there – It's just one day when the time is right, I'm just going to leave it to the universe and that door will open and I'll happily step through it, but I don't think it's going to be this year or next year or probably the year after.”
So, while Cregger is busy building nightmares elsewhere, Henchman will stay tucked away in his back pocket. Considering the creative shake-ups happening across the DC brand, there’s always a chance the door could eventually open.
Until then, fans will just have to imagine the story of the luckiest, and unluckiest, henchman in Gotham City.