Batman writer Tom King teams up with Ava DuVernay for New Gods script

Are we about to see Darkseid eat a veggie tray on the big screen? Definitely maybe.

EW has confirmed that Batman and Mister Miracle comic book writer Tom King will co-write the screenplay for New Gods with Ava DuVernay, who is attached to direct the DC Comics and Warner Bros. superhero film. The Wrap first reported the news.

For the uninitiated, the tale of the New Gods is about an intergalactic war between two planets: the heavenly New Genesis, ruled by Highfather, and the hellish Apokolips, ruled by the evil Darkseid, who is essentially the final boss of the entire DC canon and is furiously searching for the anti-life equation, which would remove all free will from the universe. Created by Jack Kirby in the 1970s, the New Gods comprises a veritable pantheon of characters and some of DC Comics' most complex and epic mythology.

Luckily, the New Gods aren't an entirely foreign concept for King. The former CIA officer turned comic book scribe recently wrapped up an award-winning and critically acclaimed run on Mister Miracle (with art by Mitch Gerads), which followed New Gods Scott Free and Big Barda as they tried to raise their child while fighting in the never-ending war. The 12-issue series featured a hilarious and now iconic page depicting Darkseid eating from a veggie tray (and double dipping!) while negotiating a truce with Scott and Barda.

It's been an eventful week for King beyond this news. Last Friday, DC announced that King was leaving the Batman comic in December in order to write a Batman/Catwoman miniseries launching in January. Batman and Catwoman's romance has been at the center of his Batman run. In fact, the two almost got married last summer, but Catwoman left Batman waiting at the altar.

King's other comics credits include Omega Men (DC), The Sheriff of Babylon (Vertigo), and The Vision (Marvel).

Related content:

• Jack Kirby at 100: Celebrating the king of comic books
• Here's who we would cast in Ava DuVernay's New Gods movie
• What you need to know about New Gods, Ava DuVernay's comic book movie