DC Films and Shows’ Future After ‘Batgirl’ Cancellation
A story published by The Hollywood Reporter has given us some updates on the current slate of DC films and HBO Max shows that are in development, which provides us some insight into the turmoil is going through after the Batgirl cancellation.
Before we dive into the projects themselves, it’s worth noting that, according to THR, the people working at DC were apparently hurt by David Zaslav’s statement during the Warner Bros. Discovery earnings call on August 4, when he said “We are going to focus on quality. We are not going to release any film before it’s ready. DC is something we can make better.” This came just two days after it was reported that HBO Max was shelving the Batgirl movie, which was deep into post-production at that point, and getting a tax write-off from it.
DC Films president Walter Hamada took it personally and was going to resign in protest, but the Warner Bros. Discovery heads convinced him to stay until the release of Black Adam. The story doesn’t end there, because apparently, The New York Post published the story before the studio even informed the cast and crew — and we know that the directors were in Morocco for Adil El Arbi’s wedding. Multiple insiders told The Wrap last week that the WBD directives want Hamada to stay and lead DC Films into the future.
Another interesting detail regarding Hamada that was in this THR story is that he was planning a Crisis on Infinite Earths event, an adaptation of the beloved story from DC Comics that would bring together multiple iterations of our on-screen heroes, akin to what Marvel is doing with their Multiverse plotline and what DC is about to do on The Flash. While many outlets have run with this piece of news in this week, the fact of the matter is that this was one of DC’s worst-kept secrets. Jim Lee heavily teased that we were going to get Crisis soon during the 2021 edition of DC FanDome. Moreover, The Flash is already bringing together various editions of its titular character (at least some of them will be played by Ezra Miller, though there’s been speculation for a long time that Grant Gustin will be making cameo, similar to Miller’s cameo on The CW event a couple of years ago), as well as (at least) two different iterations of Batman, played by Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton. The rumors are that the movie was supposed to set up Crisis.
However, that may or may not be the case when the movie releases. First, Zaslav said last week that they are coming up with a 10-year plan for DC, similar to what Marvel Studios is doing, so it’s very possible that a Crisis movie in the next three years is not viable anymore. Additionally, according to THR, Ezra Miller did some reshoots for The Flash earlier this year, something that had been planned in advance. Whether these were regular pickups or a complete redux of the ending of the movie, we don’t know. But Miller won’t be playing Barry Allen past The Flash‘s release (especially after the actor was charged with burglary earlier this week), so at some point WBD might have to change the ending of the film, to secure an exit for their iteration of the character. We don’t know if the Crisis on Infinite Earths setup will still be in the movie.
With all of that being said, here is the current slate of DC Films:
- Black Adam: the movie has now locked picture and will definitely release on October 21. While the trailers haven’t wowed many people, the studio is reportedly very happy with the movie, and it apparently is a lot better than it looks. Moreover, according to this report, the movie recently added a post-credits scene that will set up Black Adam within the DCEU.
- Shazam! Fury of the Gods: while there are some rumors that the movie might be delayed to next year so that WBD can contextualize it within their future plans for the brand, neither the company nor the THR story have said as much. The movie is very close to being complete if it hasn’t locked picture already, and the studio is reportedly very happy with it.
- Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom: this is another movie that, according to Zaslav, they are very happy with. They just cut out a post-credits scene that featured Michael Keaton’s Bruce Wayne, as test audiences were confused, and replaced him with Ben Affleck. Again, there are rumors that they might delay the movie until they can figure out how it fits within the new DCEU, but since the decision to bring Affleck in was made after Zaslav took over the company, it’s possible the movie will still be released on March 17, 2023.
- The Flash: this is the big one. WBD has invested nearly $300M on the movie, and it features key points regarding the future of DC Films, so despite the lead actor’s performances on and off set, there is no way to simply hide it under the rug. Sasha Calle and Michael Keaton will probably be the front and center of the marketing campaign. It is scheduled to come out on June 23, 2023.
- Blue Beetle: while a lot of people were scared after the cancellation of Batgirl that the next in line would be Blue Beetle, according to THR, Warner Bros. Discovery has assured the cast and crew that plans for its August 18, 2023, release are still in place. Xolo Maridueña stars in the lead role, and the movie will be the first major comic-book production to feature an all-Latino cast.
- Peacemaker season 2: James Gunn assured his Twitter followers shortly after the cancellation of Batgirl that his HBO Max show was safe, and it looks like he had reason to say that. According to THR, Warner Bros. Discovery reached out to him to assure him that they are moving forward with the second season. It’s unlikely Gunn will begin filming (or even writing) before he completes post-production on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. An optimistic guess would be for an early 2024 release — Gunn said that he wrote season 1 of Peacemaker during lockdown, while he was in post-production of The Suicide Squad, so it’s possible that he’ll follow a similar path now.
- Supergirl: while the character will be introduced in The Flash, played by Sasha Calle, it looks like a solo movie featuring the actress is no longer in active development. It’s unknown if this was the case even before Zaslav’s reign.
- Secret Six movie: this is something that was news to us, and that was revealed by this THR article. Apparently, in addition to setting up Crisis, Hamada also wanted to make a Secret Six movie, a villain team-up movie that would be the equivalent to Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts, or their own version of the Sinister Six.
- Green Lantern Corps: THR is saying that a movie adaptation that was in the works is now in stalled development. However, according to a separate story by The Hollywood Reporter, the HBO Max series that has been in the works for years is still in active development. Finn Wittrock and Jeremy Irvine are set to star, with Lee Toland Krieger (Superman & Lois, You) on board to direct the first two episodes.
- Static Shock: first announced during DC FanDome in 2020, the movie is now stalled at DC. Michael B. Jordan is very busy elsewhere, though it’s also possible that he has some resentment towards Warner Bros. after his Superman pitch didn’t come through.
- J.J. Abrams’ Superman movie: Ta-Nehisi Coates was due to turn in his script last December, but it looks like the project is no longer in active development. It’s unlikely that it will move forward, as reports point to WBD trying to bring back Henry Cavill, for which they will have to come up with the right pitch.
- J.J. Abrams’ Justice League Dark projects: against all odds, it looks like these are still in active development. Abrams was announced to be working on Justice League Dark-related shows for HBO Max in the first half of 2020, and while we haven’t had a lot of news about it, it seems like they are still right on track. The Constantine series, as well as the Madame X series, might be the first out of the gate. We could be hearing more about these in the coming months.
- Black Canary: once again, against all odds, the movie is still in development at HBO Max, with Jurnee Smollett attached to star, according to TV Line. If we learned anything from the cancellation of Batgirl, it’s that this movie will definitely have a rather small budget.
- Wonder Woman 3: there have been no news on this front since December 2020, when Warner Bros. said they were fast-tracking it. However, The Wrap‘s Umberto González said over the weekend that Gal Gadot is very much in WBD’s good graces, and apparently, she’s popping up in two of the upcoming movies from DC.
Stay tuned for more news from DC Films.
Miguel Fernández is a Spanish student that has movies as his second passion in life. His favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings, but he is also a huge Star Wars fan. However, fantasy movies are not his only cup of tea, as authors like Scorsese, Fincher, Kubrick or Hitchcock have been an obsession for him since he started to understand the language of filmmaking. He is that guy who will watch a black and white movie, just because it is in black and white.
