So, Wonder Twins has been canceled. Warner Brothers announced earlier this year that they would adapt the popular comics into a live-action film, but it’s been reported that the studio has stopped production and scrapped the idea altogether. Originally, Black Adam writer Adam Sztykiel was tapped to write and direct the upcoming feature with KJ Apa and Isabel May cast as the titular heroes. The Wonder Twins made their comic book debut in the Extreme Justice #9 issue by Ivan Velez Jr and Al Rio in 1995. The only live-action form that these twins have been showcased in was the CW series Smallville. The extraterrestrial twin brother and sister can only activate their superpowers by touching hands and saying, “Wonder Twin powers, activate!” Jayna can transform into any animal and Zan can become water in any state. There’s no word on whether there’s a future with a Wonder Twins live-action film, but was one even needed in the first place?
The Wonder Twins are…weird. This isn’t due to the fact that they’re aliens born on Exor, but mostly because for a pair of superheroes with a wacky backstory, they’re kind of lame ducks’ personality-wise. Plus, Zan’s powers just come across as weak. Surely, the comic books made them look cool but the thing with Wonder Twins is that it feels that they would actually fit better in the world of Marvel than DC. Their powers are too odd to fit the grim and dark tone that currently rules the DC films. Granted, there’s been a shift in the way Warner Brothers is approaching their DC universe, which is that they’re not particularly connecting them at the moment. There have been heavy rumors that the upcoming Flash film will restart a shared universe, but even that’s still a mystery given the recent development of Ezra Miller. Would a quirky Wonder Twins feature work? Yeah, it’s definitely possible, but the superheroes just aren’t compelling enough to really warrant a solo feature.
The Wonder Twins work better as sidekicks to another superhero. In fact, they could’ve actually been in the Justice League film coming to Earth warning the heroes about Steppenwolf, DeSaad, and Darkseid. Now, this isn’t to say that it’s impossible to feature these two in a solo film. Just because the DC universe is marked by the grim tone, doesn’t mean that fans won’t accept anything else from the studio. The flip side of this is that there’s potential to do something out-of-the-box and unique with the Wonder Twins. The cool thing is that their powers aren’t the stereotypical ones, meaning there’s something interesting that you can do that wasn’t possible for a Batman or Superman. Perhaps the focus could’ve been on the twins back on their home planet of Exor? This gives the filmmakers a chance to explore depths that no other DC films have gone. In the current era of DC heroes, it’s mostly played until the rules of a realistic world. Even Aquaman has a layer of realism to him. This could easily be DC’s Guardians of the Galaxy, taking a group oddball characters and embracing them and not shying away from what makes them special. Following the twins as they travel though the intergalactic circus can introduce some innovative visuals and maybe a future character or two can pop-up throughout the respective feature. There’s also an interesting array of villains that the feature could use such as Chronos, Mr. Mxyzptlk, or even Parasite. Maybe a weird film like Wonder Twins is something that DC needs?
Showcase that their brand can do different types of superhero films that can not only expand the DC universe itself but open up unlimited possibilities of the live-action spectrum. But, when it comes to the overall DC canon, there’s simply no need for a Wonder Twins feature, unless Warner Brothers is trying to get a Junior Superfriends film going in the future. Even then, out of all of the heroes that DC could grab in their arsenal, they chose Junior Superfriends? This feels more like an HBO Max series than a big time solo film. If Doom Patrol and Teen Titans can’t even get a feature going, how is it possible one of lesser interesting heroes do? Again, it’s not impossible to make a good film out of the Wonder Twins, it just doesn’t feel necessary when there’s better heroes who deserve their chance to shine in the live action world. If the feature gets moving again then hopefully it turns out to be something special because it definitely has the ability to do so, it’s just not something that’s needed at the moment.
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