Five years after she was tapped to write DC’s Zatanna, Emerald Fennell is finally looking back with a bit of distance — and a lot of honesty.
The Oscar-winning filmmaker admits her take on the comic book sorceress may have strayed too far from what a traditional superhero film demands. And by the sound of it, the script was anything but conventional.
“It Was Really Dark”
Speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Emerald Fennell reflected on her experience developing Zatanna for Warner Bros. and Bad Robot back in 2021.
Fresh off the success of A Promising Young Woman, Fennell said she approached the superhero project through a deeply personal lens. At the time, she described herself as “probably going through it,” which influenced the tone of the script.
Instead of crafting a traditional comic-book spectacle, she tried to build a version she could emotionally connect with — envisioning a superhero story centred on “a woman in the middle of a nervous breakdown.”
That creative choice, she now believes, may have pushed the script too far away from the genre’s expectations.
🎬 The Pressure to Deliver
Fennell admitted she felt a strong responsibility to deliver something special, particularly because J. J. Abrams had offered her the opportunity.
She described feeling like she hadn’t quite delivered what the studio may have been hoping for. Though she says the team was supportive, the experience left her second-guessing herself.
“I haven’t read it in a long time,” she confessed, adding that she found revisiting it emotionally difficult. Still, she wonders if she might now view the script more generously.
🦸 Who Is Zatanna?
Zatanna is a magician in the DC Universe, created by Gardner Fox and Murphy Anderson in 1964. Known for casting spells by speaking words backward, she’s been a member of the Justice League, shared childhood ties with Batman, and even had romantic links to John Constantine.
The character previously appeared in live-action on Smallville, portrayed by Serinda Swan.
When Deadline first reported in 2021 that Fennell would pen the project, anticipation was high. At the time, DC was actively exploring standalone films for lesser-seen characters.
🎥 A Filmmaker Known for Taking Risks
Fennell’s 2020 debut A Promising Young Woman was bold, provocative, and emotionally raw — so it’s perhaps no surprise that her version of Zatanna leaned into psychological depth over blockbuster tropes.
Her recent adaptation of Wuthering Heights and other genre-bending projects suggest she remains drawn to stories about complex, emotionally charged women.
Final Words
Emerald Fennell’s candid reflection reveals how tricky superhero storytelling can be — especially when filtered through a deeply personal creative lens.
Her Zatanna may never have made it to the big screen, but it clearly marked a moment of artistic risk-taking.
Sometimes, the most interesting versions of heroes are the ones that never quite fit the mold.
