Ava DuVernay’s ‘Naomi’ CW DC Drama Pilot Taps Kaci Walfall For Title Role, Adds Three Series Regulars

Jake Johnson has signed on to star opposite Ophelia Lovibond in Minx on HBO Max.

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Deadline has confirmed that DC Films will no longer be developing the properties New Gods which had Ava DuVernay attached to direct and Aquaman spinoff The Trench which Noah Gardner and Aidan Fitzgerald were penning for James Wan to possibly helm.

Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment WriterThe DC movie-verse is getting a little bit smaller.Long gestating DC Comics adaptations “New Gods” with director Ava DuVernay and screenwriter Tom King, and “The Trench” with director James Wan and producer Peter Safran are not moving forward at Warner Bros., the studio announced on Thursday.“As part of our DC slate, some legacy development titles including ‘New Gods’ and ‘The Trench’ will not be moving forward,” the studio said in a statement.

Big news in the world of DC Films superhero universe and Warner Bros, but not exactly unexpected news given how many times leadership has changed over at DC Films. Warner Bros.

Ava DuVernay’s superhero DC drama Naomi is rounding out its cast. In his return to the CW, former 7th Heaven star Barry Watson is set as a series regular, along with Mouzam Makkar (The Fix), Mary-Charles Jones (Kevin Can Wait), Aidan Gemme (Finding Neverland) and Daniel Puig (The System). Additionally, Amanda Marsalis (Queen Sugar, Ozark) has been tapped to direct and co-executive produce the pilot, from DuVernay’s Array Filmworks and Warner Bros. Television.

After George Floyd‘s name continues to trend on Twitter, stars like Ava DuVernay are pleading with their fans to remember that he’s not the one on trial — his alleged killer, Derek Chauvin, is. Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer, is on trial at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis, Minnesota after being charged with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the May 25, 2020 death of Floyd, an unarmed Black man.

EXCLUSIVE: Mariel Molino has been cast as a lead alongside Christina Ochoa in ABC’s drama pilot Promised Land.

Animal Kingdom‘s Christina Ochoa is set as a lead in ABC’s Promised Land, Matt Lopez’s Latinx family drama pilot.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterChristina Ochoa has been cast in a major role of the ABC drama pilot “Promised Land,” Variety has learned.The show is described as an epic, generation-spanning drama about two Latinx families vying for wealth and power in California’s Sonoma Valley.Ochoa will star as Veronica Sandoval, the eldest daughter of the Sandoval family, a wealthy vineyard-owning family in the Sonoma Valley.

EXCLUSIVE: Eleanor Fanyinka (Holby City, Sandman) has been cast as a lead in ABC’s drama pilot Epic. From the creators of Once Upon A Time, Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis, Epic is described as a romantic anthology series that reinvents fairy tales for a new audience.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe CW has cast the lead for “Naomi,” the pilot based on the DC Comics character of the same name. In addition, the pilot has added three series regulars.The pilot hails from from Ava DuVernay and Jill Blankenship. Kaci Walfall will star in the title role as Naomi, described as an effortlessly cool and confident high school student who is the adopted daughter of doting parents.

Ava DuVernay and Shonda Rhimes are pulling back more of the curtain about the HFPA and claiming that the organization will not promote Black projects until they become hits.

Black List founder Franklin Leonard responded to a Tuesday report from TheWrap about how the organization rejected studio and network requests for press conferences on multiple Black-led projects, including “Girls Trip,” “Queen & Slim” and Rhimes’ hit Netflix series “Bridgerton” — all of which were later overlooked for Globes nominations.“HFPA rejected our press conference,” Rhimes tweeted to her 1.9 million followers on Tuesday.

After his debut feature, “Shithouse,” won the Grand Jury Prize at last year’s SXSW festival, Cooper Raiff is getting ready for his next endeavor, and he’s got some great company.

EXCLUSIVE: Following a competitive bidding situation, Picturestart and Endeavor Content are set to co-finance with Endeavor Content Cha Cha Real Smooth. Cooper Raiff, whose debut film Shithouse won the Grand Jury Prize at last year’s SXSW, will direct a script he has written. Raiff will star with Dakota Johnson.

EXCLUSIVE: Disney Channel has handed a pilot order to Saturdays, a single-camera comedy about a young girl and her competitive roller skating crew, from 16-year-old Black-ish star Marsai Martin via her Genius Entertainment and writer-executive producer Norman Vance Jr. (Roll Bounce, Girlfriends). Charles Stone III (Drumline, black-ish) will direct.

As soon as they revealed they are expecting a baby girl, fans started flooding social media with name predictions for Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s second baby. Among the top contenders was “Diana” after Harry’s late mother, the Princess of Wales—but what are the chances the Sussexes will name their daughter after the people’s princess?