DC/WB Films/Worlds (No Spoilers)

[Last Son of Krypton]

More on Wonder Twins' cancellation from THR:

Sources say the decision to shut the project down occurred several weeks ago. According to insiders, the leadership of Warner Bros. Discovery, the new company combining Discovery and Warner Bros. and now being led by CEO David Zaslav, is imposing a mandate that DC movies should now be made with a theatrical-first goal. Wonder Twins, the way it had been conceived, was “too niche,” said one source.

At the same time, one source said the budget was too high for what is considered an HBO Max movie. Twins was looking at a $75 million budget but according to sources, Zaslav wants to keep HBO Max original movies $35 million and under. He has concluded that higher budgeted offerings do not add enough value, ie., add a significant number of subscribers, as much as having the more modestly-budgeted movies that seem to do the job of retaining subs. Original theatrical movies, however, do a gangbuster job of attracting subscribers, The Batman being a huge hit for the service, according to several sources.

“A lot of things that were developed are going to do away,” said another insider, referring to the broader scrutiny that is coming to the slates of many Warner divisions, including film.

Full article: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/mo...wn-1235138765/

[Johnny]

Wonder Twins is "too niche" but Peacemaker wasn't. lol Not to mention it was spun off of a box office bomb. Wonder what he thinks about Static.

Isn't Blue Beetle technically "too niche" as well.

[superduperman]

I'm not sure that a show like Peacemaker would have gotten greenlit under his tenure. I wonder if this kills the Zattanna movie too since she isn't a big name character either.

[Vordan]

More on Wonder Twins' cancellation from THR:

Sources say the decision to shut the project down occurred several weeks ago. According to insiders, the leadership of Warner Bros. Discovery, the new company combining Discovery and Warner Bros. and now being led by CEO David Zaslav, is imposing a mandate that DC movies should now be made with a theatrical-first goal. Wonder Twins, the way it had been conceived, was “too niche,” said one source.

At the same time, one source said the budget was too high for what is considered an HBO Max movie. Twins was looking at a $75 million budget but according to sources, Zaslav wants to keep HBO Max original movies $35 million and under. He has concluded that higher budgeted offerings do not add enough value, ie., add a significant number of subscribers, as much as having the more modestly-budgeted movies that seem to do the job of retaining subs. Original theatrical movies, however, do a gangbuster job of attracting subscribers, The Batman being a huge hit for the service, according to several sources.

“A lot of things that were developed are going to do away,” said another insider, referring to the broader scrutiny that is coming to the slates of many Warner divisions, including film.

Full article: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/mo...wn-1235138765/

That Black Canary film is definitely in the crosshairs right now. Wonder if any of the major productions are at risk too? Abrams JLD stuff will get snuffed quickly if it doesn’t hit its goals.

[Johnny]

If Black Canary or Zatanna don't cost north of 40-50M they're likely gonna be alright. The "too niche" stuff in general could be fine as long as it doesn't cost too much. But if they want to make sure everything gets a theatrical release, which obviously they'll need to spend more on than on streaming, then in coming years there's likely to be more Batman stuff than ever.

[Frontier]

Wonder Twins is "too niche" but Peacemaker wasn't. lol Not to mention it was spun off of a box office bomb. Wonder what he thinks about Static.

Isn't Blue Beetle technically "too niche" as well.

Peacemaker basically relying on good word of moth and James Gunn.

[Johnny]

Zaslav is apparently a Superman fan which is good, but he's clearly a businessman before he's a fan and he's clearly aware of the character's not so stellar track record. That said, I do believe the Abrams Superman film will get made, but I'm not sure if the "period piece" thing will still be there.

[skyvolt2000]

That Black Canary film is definitely in the crosshairs right now. Wonder if any of the major productions are at risk too? Abrams JLD stuff will get snuffed quickly if it doesn’t hit its goals.

A film like that should not cost that much and a smart creative team can find a place to film.

If Tyler Perry can film 4 shows at once on his studio lot and save money during a pandemic-someone at WB can find some decent properties to film that can at least break even.

Now if they are thinking every film will get more subscribers-hate to tell them but it would take MORE than a Batman movie to get me to bother with HBO Max.

Not when I can probably get the dvd cheaper than a subscription.

I mean if they were to do Mr Teriffic, Bronze Tiger, Vixen and Bloodwynd-while that might be considered niche- it's doing something Marvel isn't.

There are enough guys on DC roster that could fit the under 30 million that could do a one and done film.

[Robotman]

I’m just happy Blue Beetle is already filming or I would be sweating bullets.

I’m hoping this increases the chances of JJ’s Superman project getting the ax.

Poor Aqualad .

Probably more like poor Garth. DC/WB seem to really love Jackson/Kaldur. He has an interesting backstory what with him being the son of Aquaman’s arch enemy and he checks a lot of those sought after diversity boxes. So I can definitely see them wanting to use him as the next sidekick in the third flick.

[Holt]

Wonder Twins is "too niche" but Peacemaker wasn't. lol Not to mention it was spun off of a box office bomb. Wonder what he thinks about Static.

Isn't Blue Beetle technically "too niche" as well.

Peacemaker was a series, not a film, and I’m guessing cost nowhere near $75 million an episode. It was also greenlit under the previous regime and had James Gunn attached. It was also an MCU style movie spin-off in a way Wonder Twins likely wasn’t.

[Johnny]

Peacemaker was a series, not a film, and I’m guessing cost nowhere near $75 million an episode. It was also greenlit under the previous regime and had James Gunn attached. It was also an MCU style movie spin-off in a way Wonder Twins likely wasn’t.

Peacemaker is an example that "niche material" can work regardless of the format or who greenlit it. The MCU showed years ago that "niche material" can work just fine with big budget theatrical release as long as the right people handle it. The problem lies with the decision makers not with the material. If the new regime is worried that C list IPs won't be profitable when their competition has proven the opposite for many years now, the issue lies with them not with the characters.

[Holt]

I don’t disagree that more obscure characters still have cinematic potential. However, the comparison to Peacemaker didn’t quite work for the reasons I mentioned. It’s the exact sort of lower budget, interconnected project he’s said to want, which is also probably why the Amanda Waller spin-off was similarly just announced under his regime.

While I’m now worried about some projects like Black Canary, his desire to cut costs is not that unreasonable overall. Overspending was a massive problem with DC movies under prior regimes, and when the company is already heavily in debt right now, I can see why he’s more keen on theatrical releases that can recoup costs traditionally. Netflix is in a crisis right now because despite the crazy amount of money they’ve spent on original content, subscriber growth hasn’t kept pace.

[Veni]

"David Zaslav wants to keep the budget of HBO Max original movies at $35M and under."

This makes sense. The previous managment spent tons and tons of money on movies (both teatrical and on streaming) which weren't critically and comercially successful.

[superduperman]

I don't want Abrams anywhere near Superman. He ruined Star Trek, he ruined Star Wars (though how much his role was in that is up for debate) and his stupid obsession with "mystery boxes" gets old when the mysteries aren't very good. This sounds like we're walking back into another Snyder situation. "Let's let one director have complete creative control and 'fix' Superman!" I don't think a more conservative approach is the worst idea these days. I don't care about some director's "vision" because they keep wanting to make him Batman. The Arrowverse is doing a better job with the character than anyone on the movie side.

[Vordan]

I don’t disagree that more obscure characters still have cinematic potential. However, the comparison to Peacemaker didn’t quite work for the reasons I mentioned. It’s the exact sort of lower budget, interconnected project he’s said to want, which is also probably why the Amanda Waller spin-off was similarly just announced under his regime.

While I’m now worried about some projects like Black Canary, his desire to cut costs is not that unreasonable overall. Overspending was a massive problem with DC movies under prior regimes, and when the company is already heavily in debt right now, I can see why he’s more keen on theatrical releases that can recoup costs traditionally. Netflix is in a crisis right now because despite the crazy amount of money they’ve spent on original content, subscriber growth hasn’t kept pace.

Netflix were morons in how they funded content. They’d approve new shows left and right, give them outrageous budgets, then cancel the shows at the drop of a hat. They were always chasing never ending growth and eventually it caught up to them.