The DC Universe's Biggest Hurdle Is Warner Bros. Discovery (original) (raw)
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Despite being one of the more obvious choices, both fans and the entertainment industry reeled when James Gunn and Peter Safran were named Co-CEOs of DC Studios. Yet, the new DC Universe doesn't need to worry about Marvel Studios but instead the conflicting desires of new owners Warner Bros. Discovery.
Since acquiring the storied Warner Bros. studio and all its properties, former cable network Discovery has struggled. It's the equivalent of the manager of a successful minor league baseball team buying the St. Louis Cardinals. While Henry Cavill and Dwayne Johnson champion the future of DC characters on the big screen, Warner Bros. Discovery is still not done with its post-merger cuts and layoffs. So, while James Gunn likely has big plans with all the talent at his disposal, from Ta-Nehisi Coates to Matt Reeves, Warner Bros. Discovery might not be willing to spend what it needs to get back on course.
Warner Bros. Discovery v DC Universe: The Dawn of Spending a Lot of Money
From gutting the Cartoon Network to canceling the nearly complete Batgirl for a tax write-off, Warner Bros. Discovery's actions seem to contradict its promises of plenty more content on HBO Max and a robust feature film side with a massive DC Universe (the "DC Extended Universe" era is officially over). Dwayne Johnson is all-in at DC with both Black Adam and the much more kid-friendly DC's League of Super-Pets. He even fought the executives, possibly delaying his own film, in order to secure his friend Henry Cavill's return as the Man of Steel. While this excites the fans, it does present a very costly future investment. Perhaps this is why WBD cut $2 billion from its balance sheet and is looking to double that number.
Gunn and Safran aren't just in charge of the movies, either. They will now also oversee the television and animation divisions. This means everything from Teen Titans GO! to Stargirl is now under the auspices of The Suicide Squad director and producer. Unless they are willing to wait two or three years between major franchise installments, Gunn and Safran need to convince WBD to spend Disney-levels of money on their future.
When Disney purchased Marvel Studios, it just dumped money on everything it was doing. When it later purchased 20th Century Fox, despite being able to do a write-off like with Batgirl, Disney released New Mutants and X-Men: Dark Phoenix. Either because it respected the creators' efforts or because Disney couldn't stomach not being allowed to make money, it released them. Building a comic-book empire is about more than just the bottom line. And Warner Bros. Discovery is not the first DC owner to make that mistake.
Warner Bros. Needs a Parent Company That Recognizes the Studio Is Priceless
Warner Bros. was first purchased by Time Inc. in 1989, and Time Warner had an unprecedented run of success. In 2018, AT&T purchased Time Warner, changing the studio to WarnerMedia. As new corporate owners do, it laid a bunch of folks off, made a bunch of plans for the future, and then grew tired of it all. AT&T essentially dumped the studio as a loss, allowing David Zaslav's Discovery Inc. to purchase the company. The musical chairs nature of executives over the past six years has led to a series of unforced errors.
Around the time of the AT&T merger, the executives who greenlit the Zacky Snyder take on the DCEU were gone. Incoming studio chairman Toby Emmerich and co. didn't back this vision, and it got personal. Apparently, Cavill's absence in the Superman suit is because his agent told Emmerich that a post-credits cameo in Shazam! would count for one of the four movies he was required to be in for his initial contract. This so offended Emmerich that, rather than just saying "okay" and using that final movie to write off this Superman, he said Cavill wouldn't wear the suit again. Petty disagreements with marquee stars and creators marred the Emmerich era.
Warner Bros. Discovery has a responsibility to its employees and shareholders to act with financial responsibility. However, that's not how to build a massive pop culture presence with 80-year-old IPs. If the new DC Universe is going to be successful, Warner Bros. Discovery needs to stop divesting and start investing, or it may end up having a shorter tenure as the steward of this iconic studio than it expects.