DC cinematic universe general stuff

I would like to see Netflix take DC IP's and do what they did with the Marvel shows.

Make a proper adult based series using the DC characters there would be plenty of scope to do that and also make movies.

EoinMcLovin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119425911#Comment_119425911

With Disney owning Marvel, I highly doubt they'd be able to purchase DC as could be seen as holding a monopoly with the 2 biggest comic book companies, even if it was just for TV and movie properties. And if DC want to build something like the MCU it would need to be on the one streaming service.

~Rebel~

A teeny tiny part of me wonders if this is a ploy for free publicity - creating something like the 'release the Snyder cut' furore.

I mean, almost certainly not, as if they do ever release it and it's actually anyway decent, they'll likely look like even bigger planks.

As well as the actors, it's a major kick in the teeth for the director and writer too... that writer had a great streak going and all, with Bumblebee and Birds of Prey both being excellent.

pixelburp

The directors & star released statements via social media and they don't reveal anything except they're all class-acts; just expressing gratitude for the goodwill and professionalism of the production, alongside the love & enthusiasm from comic fans. You'd have to imagine though they're all internally seething though: that months of hard work will amount to nothing, just so a CEO on a crusade can use a tax write-off to claw back some shekels here and there.

TheIrishGrover

What a bizarre turn of events alright. It smacks more of lack of focus and panic than "quality control" Especially as initial word of mouth was quite positive and prior to and post announcement there was no hint of a troubled shoot (Indeed, as has been said, everyone actually involved seems to be playing it classy online).

Whether you like them or not, there is no denying that there was a VERY organised and well planned out through-line on the Marvel movies: Four movies introducing most of the main players before coming out with their first Avengers movie. Clever and patient introduction of subsequent new characters. While many may have had issues with the AMOUNT of movies, at least they weren't creating an Avengers movie and introducing 50% new characters at the same time.

There seems to be a bit of a scattershot approach with DC: Numerous "Arrowverse" series ongoing, lack of organised timeline of DC movies and conflicting information (Is Michael Keaton playing Batman in Flash movie? Batgirl movie? Is Affleck? Will there BE a Flash or Batgirl movie (Admittedly the Flash shenanigans are not in WB's control) What about HBO-Max movies?)

WB seem to make snap decisions at high executive level without having assessed the big picture impact. Famously they cancelled a very well received and popular "Young Justice" animated series. It had a very large female fanbase which was not what WB were pursuing at the time so it was cancelled. (It was brought back some years later to middling results/popularity). So yeah, this smacks of confusion and panic rather than someone actually taking the reins.

The White Wolf

HBO Max seems to be getting gutted now, no more scripted shows and 70% of staff being laid off. The likes of House of the Dragon will be safe as that is a main HBO property, but I imagine all the DC spin offs such as Penguin, Arkham and Green Lantern are all gone.

I think they have their quarterly report to stakeholders today so that will reveal the extent of the axe being wielded.

johnny_ultimate

It really doesn't matter whether the film was any good or not. The idea of a company dumping an entire film for what appears to be a mere tax write-off is such a bleak, dystopian bit of corporate sabotage it really goes to show how little these companies care about the audience or filmmakers.

And them quietly removing a bunch of extremely recent films from the streaming service they were made for is also a perfect illustration of the limitations and fragility of the current mad rush towards a plethora of competing streaming services. Yet another example of the continued importance of physical media for basic archiving purposes.

silverharp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119427217#Comment_119427217

sounds like dodgy reporting to me, companies dont deliberately lose money for tax write offs.

Sad Professor

If I understand it correctly this was always intended to be a direct-to-streaming film, hence the relatively low budget. As many people remarked the first official image of the film looked like a CW show, so it probably looked and sounded even cheaper than its actual budget. According to the directors, the film was "far from finished", so I presume extensive visual effects and possibly reshoots were needed, for a film that had already gone over-budget due to covid. As Netflix's efforts in this space have shown, a lot of these direct-to-streaming efforts resemble tv pilots and it's perhaps not entirely surprising to see studios treat them like tv pilots when they don't work and just bin them.

GeneHunt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119421680#Comment_119421680

I was listening to this been discussed on the BBC radio this morning, apparently WBD can write the 90m off against Tax in a "tax write-down" if the movie isn't released!!!

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-62419450

Rumours this morning, that Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and Shazam! Fury of the Gods release dates are going to be pushed back,

https://screenrant.com/aquaman-2-shazam-2-release-dates-change-possible/

I won't be surprised if The Flash release date is also delayed too.

silverharp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119427516#Comment_119427516

there were reports from the test screening back at the start of July that it was a mess, so they likely just decided not to throw good money after bad

Agent Coulson

Reports Michael Keaton filmed scenes for Aquaman 2 and those scenes might be replaced by Affleck signing up to be in it now as not to confuse fans.

Keaton's return as Batman really has been jinxed.

pixelburp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119427642#Comment_119427642

Ha. That would be a first for Hollywood. Bad test screenings nearly always trigger reshoots for Important IPs, while the box office has seen plenty of notably awful films released. A sudden crisis of faith in a bad production doesn't pass the smell test. This isn't the only casualty: a Scoob sequel was also shuttered.

I've seen suggestions those "reports" were put out by Warners to deflect from the more obvious slash and burn going on (70% staff reduction at HBO Max??). There is a major course correction going on with Warners, test screenings are besides the point.

Penn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119427670#Comment_119427670

I think Affleck has already filmed the scenes. It was because The Flash kept being pushed back which meant the set-up for Keaton's return was now coming after his appearance in Aquaman 2, so they reshot those scenes with Affleck instead.

johnny_ultimate

Here's some actual reporting on the test screening (apparently the one and only). It hardly sounds like 'erase the film from existence' territory, so yes I'm inclined to believe the multiple corroborating industry press reports that corporate shenanigans were the predominant factor here.

I mean, this is the company that released three Fantastic Beasts films, so quality control obviously isn't much of a concern for them.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/batgirl-hbo-max-movie-dc-canceled-1235191932/

"When a very early version of the film test screened, with temp VFX and score, it landed a score in the low 60s and is believed to have only tested once. Film producers and executives have long noted that test screenings are best used to determine whether audiences are engaged or disengaged during certain parts of the film, not as a final judgment call on a movie. For example, horror films that end up doing well have been known to test in the 60s. Batgirl’s test score, which was for a director’s cut, is comparable to scores for the first It (2017), which wound up grossing $700.3 million globally, as well as an early score for the upcoming Shazam! Fury of the Gods. Both of those films tested in the 60s."

silverharp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119427752#Comment_119427752

this isnt a cinema release though so its not like they can spend another 10m say to fix it because they will get 50 or 60 m back when it releases. If it was purely going to be for streaming then the question is, was is worth spending 10m to "fix it" ? its a small movie, not any kind of event movie so most likely they wouldnt generate any extra subscriptions.

Given the share price drop in Netflix etc and people cutting back on spending, its indicative that the days of spending shed loads of cash on mediocre content are behind, which is a good thing.

Agent Coulson

The Supergirl spin off from The Flash film is now also not moving forward by reports today.

pixelburp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119427860#Comment_119427860

Well again, there's no strong indicator this film was a disaster; maybe it just needed a couple of extra days shooting to tighten the pacing; maybe it just needed better editing; maybe it needed another 100 million to fix. We can't know, but we do know that executing a production this advanced is extremely rare.

As to the rest, re. Netflix? That's Apples and Oranges: their woes are of their own making, overextending themselves with the foolish "Infinite Growth" tactic beloved of modern tech companies, while shovelling insane levels of cash into projects that apparently don't bring in the subs they wanted.

And "success" for streaming releases is, obviously, the ability to attract new subscribers - therein lies some comparison with Netflix. Batgirl had value in that respect.

However, as other posts have been clarifying, the new CEO has been taking an extreme response to the overall direction of the corporation - specifically here in pivoting HBO Max to unscripted content, while sacking staff across the board; all indicators enough that unless it has existing brand mega-value, it's getting the chop. Nothing to do with test screenings.

JP Liz V1

I really don't understand the cancelling Bat Girl now it completed Surely even a limited release and airing on Disney +

silverharp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119428191#Comment_119428191

if the studio had a free film that can be streamed on their site, I assume they would do it even if it was bad, nobody is forced to watch it and it will disappear down the memory hole. If its simply not finished and to do so might cost an extra 10% and its mediocre to bad, its good financial sense to cancel it and good leadership as there will obviously be blow back

Agent Coulson

One thing for sure it can't be as bad as The New Mutants and that eventually made it to streaming.

Mal-Adjusted

The talk about quality of the film is clearly BS. This is the studio that released crap like Birds of Prey for god's sake. Warner Bros has been cursed with poor management in recent years.

Varik

They merged with Discovery this year, everyone has to justify their job and why their project should continue.

Fysh

It's impressive that WB has gone from having daft management due to being owned by AT&T, to having daft management because of the Discovery merger. Seems safe to say that neither set of management really has a vision for WB as a studio, much less as a studio with a large pool of eminently adaptable and versatile properties like the DC stable...

pixelburp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119430120#Comment_119430120

I said it in another thread, but remember when film studios were run by mad bàstards off their heads on cocaine - not accountants or careerist corporate executives? Not that said bàstards were noble human beings or anything, but most still wanted to make movies to entertain, shock or provoke - if even at a base or visceral level.

Slydice

So then... David Zaslav is in charge since Discovery bought Warner Brothers and the flame thrower is out.

So.. assuming he has a vision for what he wants... what did he grow up with? Wiki says he's 62, born 1960:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Zaslav

What did he watch when he grew up? Wiki has a List of films based on DC Comics publications:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_based_on_DC_Comics_publications

This guy was around for all of the films! Even the 1966 batman with Adam West!

The straight to Supermans, Swamp Things, Batmans, Wonder Womans (WW listed under TV films)

Doesn't really answer any questions for me there unless he's gonna want a reboot of all of them.

He could just be about the money side of things either.. so keeping the Rock connected films and Joker.

Kept Peacekeeper too though right? .. I dunno. Did Peacekeeper make bank?

Maybe Zaslav isn't going to be running it at all. Just going in, clearing house, letting himself be labelled a monster and then allowing someone new to take a lead Producer role?

CastorTroy

https://deadline.com/2022/08/batgirl-axing-david-zaslav-dc-films-reset-1235085520/

So the plan is a reset and a 10 year plan like Marvel. I assume that starts after Flash and won't be using Flash as a reset.

Yet the second Joker is still coming which isn't in this universe either, I would guess.

So not like Marvel.

If they have better control of things then it may happen but how many DC films kept having production problems, like The Flash. Though would be surprised if they pull it off. They have to be patient and not assume they have to have Batman in everything.

I'm still trying to work out how they'll even manage to release The Flash. That movie is in far more trouble than Batgirl could ever be.

The White Wolf

Z

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119430988#Comment_119430988

So back to square 1. I don't understand why they don't just pack in the shared universe and continue on with self contained films like Joker and The Batman, as this seems to work quite well.

Even Marvel are struggling a bit now with how big their universe has gotten. It's not the be and end of it all.

pixelburp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119431364#Comment_119431364

I don't get the impression the Ezra Miller trashfire has really elevated itself into the zeitgeist to the level it might properly hobble the movie. Maybe that would happen during the actual weeks before release?