The strategic implementation of DC’s future by David Zaslav, the new CEO and President of Warner Bros. Discovery, has brought a lot of unfortunate changes to the ongoing projects at the studio. Three have been halted at their pre-production and launch stages. One of them, Batgirl, has been receiving massive fan criticism and online caterwauling relating to its cancellation.
However, this adds to an even more dangerous precedent as future DC movies, like Supergirl and The Batman 2 could now be at risk of being shelved indefinitely by the new DC head. The DC Extended Universe as of now comprises only 3 foreseeable films scheduled for a definitive release but fans are now growing increasingly wary of the future of the superhero franchise.
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WB Discovery Puts Future DC Projects at a Stalemate Risk
The WB Discovery CEO has recently announced his new vision for DC and it is something that reflects Marvel Studios’ strategy of a long-term plan. Zaslav claims that there will now be a “10-year plan focusing just on DC” and the primary brand characters, namely Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman will be central to his plans after the radical shift within the franchise.
However, this now puts plans that are currently in media res at risk of never seeing the light of day. For one, projects that now connect the existent DC with Zaslav’s future one are caught in the crosshairs, and considering how David Zaslav has no qualms about axing finalized projects, Sasha Calle’s upcoming Supergirl spin-off and Matt Reeves’ The Batman 2 are making fans queasy with every passing announcement.
David Zaslav’s New Direction For DC Makes a Drastic Shift
One of the major decisions that were made in the aftermath of the WarnerMedia and Discovery merger was the cancellation of all exclusive and direct-to-streaming projects that DC made in association with HBO Max. However, not finding any “economic value to it”, Zaslav has now decidedly shifted to adopt a theatrical release model for future DC films.
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The new DC Universe in the absence of Snyder’s Superman and Batman, played by Henry Cavill and Ben Affleck respectively, has grown stricter with their cameos. It wouldn’t be too far-fetched to imagine a rebooted universe where the DC characters are played by recast actors. There have been theories that supported Batgirl, Supergirl, and Wonder Woman leading DC in the absence of their male counterparts.
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But hypothetical analogies aside, since Matt Reeves’ The Batman was produced by Warner Bros. Pictures, films such as The Batman 2 which do not belong to a definitive faction of the DC Extended Universe but fall under the umbrella corporation managed by Zaslav may not live to see the light of day.
The Batman is now available for streaming on Amazon Prime.
Source: Variety
