The consequences of the merger of Warner Bros. Discovery is starting to make waves in the entertainment industry. The live-action Batgirl movie has been canceled, with other DC projects rumored to follow. And now the new company is revealing plans to merge HBO Max and Discovery+ into one streaming service. A lot of things are changing in Hollywood, and few of them seem to be for the better.
Let’s take a closer look at what these changes mean for the DC line and HBO Max as a whole, and why Warner Bros. Discovery seems to be making mistake after mistake with its key franchises.
DC changes direction… Again
Regardless of which camp you fall into in the eternal Marvel vs. DC conflict, there’s no denying that Warner Bros. is struggling to achieve the same level of success with the DCEU that Disney enjoyed with the MCU. Warners has often seemed unsure of the best way to build a shared universe, first mimicking the MCU model with early films like Batman v Superman and Justice League and then pivoting to emphasize a multiverse of movies and shows that don’t are necessarily related.
DC’s line had begun to carve out a niche for itself with more stand-alone, director-centric fare like Todd Phillips’ Joker, Matt Reeves’ The Batman, and James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker, the first two not at all connected to a larger DCEU. But that all seems to be changing after the Warner Bros. merger. Discovery. Back in May 2021, Variety reported that CEO David Zaslav was looking to return to a more MCU-style approach to DC films, to the point that Zaslav was reportedly looking for a Kevin Feige figure to oversee the DC brand.
Every DC movie and series affected by the Warner Bros. merger. Discovery
This mentality seems to be at the heart of why the Batgirl movie was canceled. Batgirl was originally conceived as a relatively lower-budget DC film that would head straight to HBO Max. It’s a smaller film that clashes with Zaslav’s vision of what DC’s film line should offer.
An industry insider told The Wrap, “It wasn’t considered a big enough movie to warrant a theatrical release … and it was a growing risk just to make back its budget.”
Because of this, the risk-averse Warner Bros. Discovery decided it was safer to cut the film tax than spend more money on a theatrical release and marketing campaign. It appears to be the same thinking that derailed The Wonder Twins shortly before production began, as well as the possibly planned Supergirl movie starring Sacha Kalle.
DC fans are now fearing that any number of previously announced movies and shows could be next. If WBD cancels the almost finished Batgirl, will Blue Beetle (who is currently in the midst of filming) be next? Will The Batman spinoffs like Penguin and Arkham happen? Is every DC series on HBO Max – Doom Patrol, Titans, Young Justice, Harley Quinn – safe right now? Heck, can we even be sure that Batman 2 will go forward?
It’s been almost 10 years since 2013’s Man of Steel kicked off the DCEU, and there’s more uncertainty surrounding the DC line than ever before. At this point, the problem is less any particular strategy for building the DC Cinematic Universe than the simple fact that there never seems to be a coherent strategy. The many upheavals within both DC and the larger WarnerMedia corporate structure prevented any kind of long-term, cohesive approach to the DCEU. And while it’s still very early in the new era of Warner Bros. Discovery, there are no indications so far that the new status quo will be any less chaotic.
The 10 Year Plan for DC
There are some silver linings amid the tumultuous situation in DC. For one thing, the long-rumored Joker sequel already has a 2024 release date, which suggests that WBD isn’t completely against the idea of standalone movies set outside the confines of the DCEU. On the other hand, the company hinted at a decade-long roadmap for restructuring the DC line.
“We did a reset,” Zaslov said on Warner Bros.’ earnings call. Discovery for the second quarter. “We have restructured the business where we will focus [on], where there will be a team with a 10-year plan focused only on DC. It’s very similar to the structure that Alan Horn and Bob Iger put together very effectively with Kevin Feige at Disney. We think we can build a long-term, much stronger business with sustainable growth from DC. And as part of that, we’re going to focus on quality.”
Zaslov’s comments confirm earlier reports that the company is looking directly to Marvel for inspiration on how to reshape its superhero universe. The hope is that even as DC’s movie strategy is reworked once more, a coherent plan is finally in place.
That being said, following the Marvel model is hardly a guarantee of success. Every studio and streamer wants their own MCU, but actually creating a cinematic universe and maintaining a dedicated audience is much easier said than done. Just look at Universal’s failed attempt at the Dark Universe line of monster movies or Paramount’s ongoing struggles to expand the Transformers franchise. After so many years of bidding war against Marvel, can DC really turn the tide simply by replicating Marvel’s strategy? It’s possible, especially if the studio follows through on its commitment to focus on quality over meeting release dates. But it can also turn out to be an extremely expensive futile exercise.
After so many years of bidding war against Marvel, can DC really turn the tide simply by replicating Marvel’s strategy?
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Christopher Nolan and the Importance of Creator Relationships
2021 has been nothing short of an experimental year for WarnerMedia, with the company’s entire 2021 slate of movies hitting HBO Max and in theaters on the same day. It was a move that no doubt boosted subscriber numbers for the fledgling HBO Max. But it was also one that came at a significant cost, both literally and in terms of WarnerMedia’s relationships with theater chains and filmmakers.
“It is clear that Warner Media intends to sacrifice a significant portion of the profitability of its movie studio division and that of its production partners and filmmakers to subsidize its launch of HBO Max,” said AMC Theaters CEO Adam Aaron. “As far as AMC is concerned, we will do everything in our power to ensure that Warner does not do it at our expense. We will aggressively pursue economic conditions that preserve our business.”
This marketing strategy also caused a lot of public friction between WarnerMedia and director Christopher Nolan, who wrote: “Some of the biggest directors in our industry and the most important movie stars went to bed the night before thinking they were working for the most major movie studio and woke up to find they were working for the worst streaming service ever.
While labeling HBO Max the “worst streaming service” is pretty harsh, the fact that those words come from a man of Nolan’s stature speaks volumes. Nolan has since cut ties with Warner Bros. His upcoming biopic Oppenheimer will instead be distributed by Universal Pictures. Given that Nolan has been responsible for some of Warners’ most critically and commercially successful blockbusters of the past two decades, his departure is no small loss for the studio.
Zaslav has shown signs that he intends to make amends with creators put off by WarnerMedia’s previous HBO Max strategy. During a May 2021 conference call, he noted that building relationships with directors and creators is his “number one priority” going forward.
Unfortunately, it’s hard to see how any creators will be reassured by Batgirl’s surprise cancellation. Directors Adil El Arbi and Bilal Fallah seem as shocked as anyone to learn that their film will never see the light of day. We can only assume that other directors and actors are now anxiously wondering if their projects might be next on the chopping block.
The move sends a clear message that the bottom line is all that matters to Warner Bros. executives. Discovery. Entire movies can and will be sacrificed if there is more money to be made from tax cuts than box office profit. This can only have a negative effect on the Warner Bros. film and TV lineup. Discovery. How many directors and producers will look at the cancellation of Batgirl and wonder if their passion project is safe at Warner Bros? How much more will Christopher Nolans lose the studio in the coming years?
HBO vs. Discovery: A Clash of Philosophies
Few in the industry would have predicted that WarnerMedia’s streaming service would emphasize the HBO brand, but it’s obvious enough why they did. The HBO name has built up a lot of cache over the years. Shows like Oz, The Sopranos, Deadwood, The Wire and Game of Thrones have earned the premium network heaps of awards and a reputation for quality. HBO helped pave the way for the Peak TV era, with networks and streamers spending increasing amounts of money on prestige shows. By calling the service HBO Max, WarnerMedia clearly hoped to build on that reputation and rely on big-budget projects like House of the Dragon and The Last of Us to win the streaming wars.
It’s anything but the strategy Zaslav has employed at Discovery over the years. These networks emphasize unsigned content such as nature documentaries, home improvement shows, and various types of reality television. That being said, the idea of merging WarnerMedia and Discovery into one company has always seemed a bit odd. How can two companies with such contrasting approaches to content merge into a cohesive whole? Can Zaslav accept the need for expensive prestige TV alongside Discovery’s familiar fare?
In this new climate, even big marquees like House of the Dragon face an uncertain future. Like the original Game of Thrones, this prequel is shaping up to be one of the most expensive television productions in Hollywood history….
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