Emerald Fennell will write the upcoming Zatanna movie

Emerald Fennell is set to write the upcoming DC Comics movie ‘Zatanna’.

The 35-year-old director and actress has signed up to write the script for the upcoming DC Extended Universe movie, which is being developed by Bad Robot and Warner Bros.

The movie will be the first appearance for the titular superhero in a DCEU movie, and the character – who is a magician and considered one of the most powerful sorcerers in the DC universe – is best known in the franchise for her involvement with the Justice League, which includes heroes such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman.

Zatanna was previously played by Serinda Swan in the later seasons of the CW series ‘Smallville’, but the role in the upcoming movie has not yet been cast.

The new movie will mark the second female DC hero to headline her own movies in the wider franchise, after ‘Wonder Woman’ and its sequel, ‘Wonder Woman 1984’.

The studio recently cast ‘The Young and the Restless’ star Sasha Calle to play Supergirl ahead of her debut in ‘The Flash’, but has not set a standalone movie.

For Emerald, the writing role comes after she found success as a director with ‘Promising Young Woman’, which marked her feature film debut.

The dark comedy has bagged five Oscar nominations – including best picture, screenplay, and actress for Carey Mulligan – as well as six BAFTA nods, and a SAG Awards nomination.

The film was also nominated for four Golden Globes – including a best director nod – but failed to win in any of its categories when the awards took place last month.

As of the time of writing, there are no other announcements about the ‘Zatanna’ movie, and no release date has been set.