William Shatner Pitches A Western DC Series
William Shatner has pitched DC head James Gunn with the idea to bring his Legends of Tomorrow character Jonah Hex to the small screen.
William Shatner has seemed to endorse a pitch from Johnathon Schaech for a DC hero right out of the Old West. According to CBR, William Shatner retweeted Schaech’s plea to the new head of DC Studios, James Gunn, for a series based on his Legends of Tomorrow character Jonah Hex. The Star Trek legend also tagged Gunn in his post to ensure the director saw what Schaech said.
Before William Shatner’s pitch, Jonah Hex appeared on DC’s Legends of Tomorrow three times and also played a role in the Arrowverse crossover “Crisis on Infinite Earths.” Johnathon Schaech would like to see a spin-off show based on DC’s acerbic All-Star Western Comics bounty hunter. The facially-scarred character offsets his poor social skills with a strict code of honor that demands he protect the innocent.
This plea comes at a time when the rest of the Arrowverse seems to be coming to a close. A few of the shows in the DC pantheon have been canceled, including Batwoman, Stargirl, and Legends of Tomorrow, leaving The Flash and Superman and Lois as the only DC properties with television shows. The Flash is airing its final season in 2023, and there is some question as to whether Superman and Lois will last beyond its third season, also coming out in 2023.
However, James Gunn did like William Shatner’s retweet, and with the attention of the new co-chair of DC Studios, there may be hope yet. Gunn and co-chair Peter Safran were brought on to DC Studios with the intent to revive and revitalize the studio and its properties, which is an overhaul the Arrowverse desperately needs. If all the shows within the DC Universe are over after 2023, the studio is going to need something new to bring in viewers.
Right now, the only new property being developed by DC Studios is Justice U. If Superman and Lois manages to get renewed after its third season, that makes only two series out of a fictional world that once crossed four properties to make a mega-miniseries that featured the teams of three superheroes and the band of time-traveling misfits that got to meet Jonah Hex. Fans of Legends of Tomorrow are taking to social media to try to save that show and give it a proper ending, but its cancelation makes the success of this movement seem unlikely.
For now, we only have the endorsement of the renowned William Shatner and the acknowledgment of James Gunn to give us any hope of Jonah Hex joining the DC Universe. Gunn has posted on Twitter that he is listening to fans and focusing on the story going forward. This includes developing the new DC Universe so that future plans can be announced and brought to fruition.
Whether Jonah Hex figures into the future of the DC Universe is anyone’s guess, and fans of the comic giant will have to wait and see. William Shatner might like the idea, but it’s unknown what DC Studios and parent company Warner Bros. Discovery might want to do it if Captain Kirk is interested enough to endorse it, though, maybe we’ll get to see Jonah Hex after all.
