DC cinematic universe general stuff

All.......

ALL the money

Seen a few articles popping up that Batgirl is potentially being shelved. Reactions have been poor, it's been removed from the schedule, and might not even be released on HBO Max let alone theatrically.

Sounds like Flash is still planned for cinema release. The issue seems to be that Batgirl fell between two stools; not big-scale enough for a theatrical release, and too big that it doesn't tie in with what they want to release on streaming. If early reception to Batgirl is poor, it's not worth the cost of reshoots or changing VFX just to release on streaming.

So Flash is still likely going ahead as it's big-scale enough for cinema release. Or at least, up until Ezra Miller actually kills someone, at which point WB might decide to reconsider.

Meant to post here instead of the Superheroes forum.

So it's not Ezra Miller ruining the DC movies, it's Michael Keaton's return as Batman.

They've had no problem releasing bad stuff before in cinemas and they wouldn't have to spend much on marketing if they decided to skip the theatrical release.

Of course the comments in the article on tvline jump to sexism and racism.

This will be a film people will try to get prints of down the line, along the lines of Roger Corman's Fantastic 4 or tv pilots.

In all my time following film news, I don't think I've ever seen such an insane decision. People will draw comparisons but this is totally unprecedented for the scale of the project and people's awareness of it. There's going to be a lot of spin in the press on why this decision was made.

It definitely doesn't help Warner Bros image as a studio for creatives, it used to be considered a director driven studio. Zaslav is being absolutely cutthroat though and saving money in the short term might cost him some in the long term with creators apprehensive of working with them. I mean if they'll shelve a mostly completed 90 million CBM film, what chance do others have? Considering the damage his predecessor Kilar did with the day and date releases it doesn't exactly inspire confidence on that front that the new leadership will put artists first. I know talking about 'artists and creatives' for a Batgirl movie seems a tad dramatic FYI but it is the precedent it sets.

On the DC side of things, more than ever it looks like the whole thing might get rebooted or far less likely, sold. Crazy to think that Shazam had a somewhat comparable budget to Batgirl and is now getting a sequel that looks like it has a bigger budget. There's been conflicting reports on the quality of the film but I would be extremely worried if I made a DC film right now that isn't a guaranteed money maker (Blue Beetle and Zatanna come to mind), pretty much anything in the works is up in the air. Would explain the muted Comic Con appearance too. When you look at their upcoming slate, DC is pretty much the only thing they have as a blockbuster franchise with consistent releases. Flash was their opportunity to reset and even that's a mess now.

Lot of talk about the future of HBO Max and it's content too, we may know a lot more on Thursday when they present their Q2 Earnings and reveal some plans for the future post-merger. There's also talks of major layoffs coming and I'd be shocked if this was just the beginning of big cancellations, although this being so close to the finish line raises eyebrows. The fact that they cancelled a 40 million dollar animated film and it's being overlooked is even weird. I doubt the quality excuse washes when you're talking about disposable kiddie fare. Even though they've said they're moving away from kids content for Max. This news in general is baffling, after Superpets underperforming too, I think the next few months will be very telling in whether the DCEU is worth saving from a financial perspective.

TLDR: WBD is a mess and the DCEU is as bad.

Oh I know. That's why I mentioned spin later on. Word prior to this was quite positive to the point of it getting a potential theatrical release.

I just said conflicting cause I knew if I said it was bad, people would say they heard good and if I said good, they'd say they heard bad haha. I wouldn't be trusting anything I hear about the film right now, it's damage control trying to make clear this was a good decision regardless of it it was or not.

Warner Bros are saying it wasn't a quality decision and was purely due to it not fitting into their plan for streaming. Which is still dumb considering the cost already put into it. It's a shame cause Batgirl was one I actually had interest in, that and Shazam 2.

Also worth noting Keaton has now gone from 3 appearances as Batman to just one in the Flash. What a mess.

This would have been the 2nd iteration of a 3 rate DECU character, neither of which seemed to generate any appetite-was there even a thread of the Batgirl here on boards? A movie no one wanted

The entire DCEU has been a mess for years. Zach Synders Justice League just gave an already dead franchise life support for zero result & fan service. There was zero universe building for a much better known franchise.

I've a feeling they are gonna wipe Flash also and stick to the release of the 3 big theatrical films, Black Adam, Shazam & the Aquaman to tie up contractual obligations

DCEU wrapped up and done by March 2023-

Announcement of new DECU studio/division to follow soon after, that way they'll give time for things to peter out before getting DC fans excited again! Strange old world in Hollywood!

That could be good news for the likes of Netflix, Amazon & Apple then of Discovery want to kill off Warners/ HBO's ip's and scripted shows.

I could literally see Disney throwing in a bid for DC.