HBO Max just added a major player to its growing roster of creatives.
According to Deadline, Ava DuVernay has struck a deal with WarnerMedia to helm a new project for its upcoming streaming. DuVernay is set to direct and produce the pilot for the adaptation of DC Comics' DMZ, in which author Brian Wood imagines a future ravaged by a second American Civil War. DuVernay's ARRAY Filmworks has partnered with Warner Bros. to produce the show, while Roberto Patino will serve as DMZ's executive producer, showrunner, and writer.
"DMZ is a special project to me as it marks a key collaboration with my company ARRAY Filmworks, the excellent team at Warner Bros TV and the dynamo Roberto Patino," DuVernay told said in a statement. "We’ve all worked diligently on this material and I’ve witnessed Roberto in action. He’s insanely talented and cares about telling stories with maximum impact and imagination. I’m eager to share this one with DC fans." Production on DMZ is set to begin in early 2020.
DuVernay's deal with WarnerMedia adds to the host of topline talent that the company has secured for its streaming service. Last week, it was announced that Ellen DeGeneres inked a deal with WarnerMedia to bring four new series to HBO Max. Ellen will produce two unscripted shows, Ellen’s Home Design Challenge and First Dates Hotel. She'll also be behind a docuseries, Finding Einstein, that focuses on highlighting the world's new class of geniuses. DeGeneres will then add to HBO Max's animated line-up with the cartoon Little Ellen, which will be a children's show that's based on her childhood.
DuVernay meanwhile, is becoming a mainstay in the world of comic book adaptations. She's also to direct a big-screen adaptation of Jack Kirby’s New Gods.
