'Wonder Twins' deactivate! HBO Max axes DC live-action movie starring KJ Apa and Isabel May

The live-action feature adaptation of DC comic book characters the Wonder Twins is no longer moving forward at HBO Max. 

According to Variety, the film has been scrapped, even though the project already hired Black Adam screenwriter Adam Sztykiel to write and direct, and had cast actors KJ Apa and Isabel May (pictured above) to play the titular twins. The movie was supposed to start production in Atlanta this summer. 

The news also comes soon after the Warner Bros. and Discovery merger, where Discovery president David Zaslav has pledged to cut $3 billion in costs and is examining DC Entertainment’s overall operations. According to Variety, Wonder Twins apparently had a budget of $75 million. 

The Wonder Twins are comprised of Zan and Jayna, a pair of shapeshifting alien siblings from a planet called Exxor. They were first introduced in the 1970s Hanna-Barbera cartoon, The All-New Superfriends Hour. In 2019, DC Comics had writer Mark Russell and artist Stephen Bryne give the duo a reboot. 

"They are two people from another world who are brought to this planet and see its dysfunction firsthand, and then are somehow expected to fix it," Russell explained during 2019’s Emerald City Comic Con.  "We're handing off a planet that's on the verge of ecological collapse and unprecedented inequality and social problems. It's like, 'Here kids, have fun!' I think that's kind of the position that the Wonder Twins are in."

Unfortunately at this time, it looks like we will only have the comics to see the Wonder Twins activate their powers and save the planet. 

Looking for more sci-fi TV? Check out shows like Resident Alien, Brave New World, Project Blue Book, Eureka, Heroes, Intergalactic, and more streaming now on Peacock. Looking ahead, SYFY has new series The Ark in the works from original Stargate film writer/producer Dean Devlin, as well as Stargate SG-1 producer Jonathan Glassner.