The “Batgirl” Cancelation
Recap: As you’ll soon see by the list of ramifications that follow, the Warner Bros. Discovery merger had many subsequent consequences, particularly for the DC Universe that WB owns. Early signs of a shakeup were seen only a few weeks after the announcement; the “Wonder Twins” movie—a recently announced DC project— was killed and scrapped only about four months or so after it had been publicized. Then in early August, the real hammer of disturbance dropped. The” Batgirl” movie starring Leslie Grace and directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah (“Ms. Marvel”) had been entirely scrapped, even though it was mostly done and just in the post-production and VFX phase. The reasoning was, beyond the cost-cutting measure Zaslav is so desperate to make, that Jason Kilar, the former CEO of Time Warner Inc., had envisioned “Batgirl” and several other mid-budget films as films explicitly made for HBO Max. However, when the bottom fell out of streaming this spring—Wall Street doing a big about-face on the valuation of Netflix and others, causing a huge panic in the industry— WB re-ran the math and realized that spending the kind of dollars they did on “Batgirl” (around $90 million and climbing), wasn’t worth it for a film only meant for streaming. And to supersize it and make it “big” enough for the theatrical experience would cost another $50-75 million, and Zaslav and WB thought it wasn’t worth it. Instead, they scrapped it all and took it as a write-off. Of course, the directors and Grace were totally shocked, upset, embarrassed, and angry, taking it well publicly, but you can imagine this really affected filmmaker’s view of WB and DC. There was much outrage within the industry, and co-stars like Michael Keaton and Brendan Fraser weren’t happy either. The entire affair was ugly, unprecedented, and shocking—a nearly finished mid-sized superhero film getting killed— and a big black eye for WB in what would be a pummeling that would continue all year long. – Rodrigo Perez
James Gunn & Producer Peter Safran Named New DC Studios Chiefs
Recap: When David Zaslav took over and Warner Time Inc. became Warner Bros. Discovery, it was apparent change was in the air. Ex-DC Film chief Walter Hamada would be stepping down as soon as a replacement was found, Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy were named the new Warner Bros. Pictures co-chairs, and WB searched high and low to find a “new Kevin Feige” to run the new titled DC Studios. Well, they found a very good approximation in filmmaker James Gunn, a former Marvel helmer who had already directed DC’s “The Suicide Squad,” and their “Peacemaker” spin-off, and his producing partner Peter Safran. They were tasked with—well, that’s unclear, given Gunn and Safran undid De Luca and Abdy’s decisions (see the Superman story below). But it seems like the basic plan was to set the DC Universe—which had been mired in problems for years— right. The full extent of their decisions has not been revealed. Still, they killed Henry Cavill’s return as Superman (see below), scrapped an entire “Black Adam” sequel and Dwayne Johnson’s role as the character, and it appears they are heading towards a full-on reboot of the DC Universe. Patty Jenkins’ “Wonder Woman 3” proposal has been killed, and it’s unclear what is happening with Gal Gadot’s role as the character or a third film. Additionally, there’s been rumors that Jason Momoa could exit the “Aquaman” franchise and move to the more obscure character Lobo instead. Either way, all of Gunn and Safran’s decisions have been major, so the 2023 announcements could be further earth-shattering for DC fans.
What’s Next: Well, four films from the current and soon-to-be outdated (??) DC Universe still have to hit theaters in 2023. “Shazam: Fury Of The Gods” in March, the massive event film, “The Flash” in July, the stand-alone “Blue Beetle” in August, and an “Aquaman” sequel in December. How do you release these films and expect audiences to attend if they’re aware that none of these actors will appear in these roles again? For Warner Bros’ sake, we hope they wait till all four are done with their theatrical runs before making any public announcements, but the way the leaks keep coming out of the DC Studios boat, you may have to wish them a lot of luck. – RP
READ MORE: DC Studios Upheaval Again As James Gunn Teases A New Universe [The Playlist Podcast]
Henry Cavill Is The First Casualty Of The New DC Studios
Recap: It’s one of the most embarrassing stories on a personal level to any actor in 2022, and maybe all decade so far, and we’re shocked not to hear stories of the actor being furious. In short, Henry Cavill is no longer Superman, but the way they reached this decision must have been maddening for the actor. The shortest version of a long story. Dwayne Johnson, his managers, and his production company, badger Walter Hamada and DC Films to get Henry Cavill to cameo at the end of Johnson’s “Black Adam.” Hamada says no, but De Luca and Abdy relent at the 11th hour, and Cavill appears in the film’s post-credits. Following that appearance, a few days later, Cavill is given the DC ok to announce on Instagram that he is back as Superman; the actor, already promoting “Enola Holmes 2,” uses that film to go on a mini-press tour to essentially discuss his return as Superman. In the ensuing weeks, “Black Adam” tanks—in spite of an embarrassing Deadline piece where they tried to say it made money after carrying the water for Johnson’s Seven Bucks Productions— and then, just days after Cavill announced his return, James Gunn and Peter Safran are revealed as the new DC Studios chiefs. Rumors start to surface, and eventually, Gun and Safran deliver the bad news they had already teased. They’ve decided to go in a different direction with a younger Superman, and Cavill—who just publicly announced to the world that he was returning to the Superman role only one month earlier—is no longer the Man of Steel. To add insult to injury, in the following days, Gunn and Safran kill the “Black Adam” franchise, which feels like a wholesale rebuke of Johnson’s entire plan and the way he tried to goose “Black Adam” numbers by essentially spoiling Cavill’s long-awaited return in the film. Cavill and Johnson share management which makes it all seem worse, and we’re not sure how the former Superman is still working with any of these people because he got played hard, unfortunately.
What’s Next: Cavill has moved on, and Gunn is planning on writing a new Superman film for a younger actor. There’s no word on who will direct yet, though Gunn is apparently considering it.
Amazon’s MGM Deal Goes Through
Recap: Almost under the radar compared to the drama at Disney and Warner Bros Discovery, Amazon’s acquisition of MGM in April went off without a hitch. Again, almost. Within weeks MGM Motion Picture Group Chairman Mike DeLuca and president Pam Addy were gone, seemingly having no interest in reporting to Amazon Studios head Jen Salke (a – gasp – TV person!). Amazon eventually put Salke in charge of all of it, but with the intention of keeping MGM as a theatrical distributor first and foremost. Now, whether Salke and her team can convince the franchise controlling Brocclis to approve those James Bond TV spin-offs they want is another question entirely.
What’s Next: After “Till” and “Bones and All” bombed this fall, MGM has the potential hit “Creed III” and the Zendaya sports comedy “Challengers” on deck for 2023.
The Slap Heard Around The World
Recap: It was supposed to be his crowning moment. After a 25-year career in the movies and two previous acting nominations, Will Smith was finally winning an Academy Award. In fact, Oscar telecast producers sat the charismatic actor in the front row so he could get up on stage in mere minutes to accept his statue and, no doubt, give an emotional and moving speech. Instead, the Oscar ceremony turned into a nightmare. After presenter and former Oscar host Chris Rock made a seemingly tame joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, the “King Richard” star got up out of his seat, walked on stage, and slapped Rock across the face. Many watching at home and in the far reaches of the Dolby Theater thought it must have been some sort of bit. This was a joke between Rock and Smith, longtime peers, correct? But, no, it wasn’t (and it was very obvious it wasn’t to those close to the stage). The Academy’s immediate mishandling of the situation (Smith was seemingly allowed to remain in his seat after the incident, although that has been disputed) disturbed the three hosts that night – Amy Schumer, Regina King, and Wanda Sykes – who had done a bang up job up until that point, infuriated Academy members in the room and saw Smith eventually accept his Best Actor statue with no recourse. The fallout was tremendous. Smith was kicked out of the Academy and banned from attending the Oscar ceremony for a decade (he can still be nominated, however). Rock decided not to press charges and turned down an offer to host the 2023 ceremony (Jimmy Kimmel will return instead). Smith has also apologized publicly at least three times (we lost count) and attempted a “comeback” less than eight months later with the release of his Apple TV+ film “Emancipation” in a publicity tour even crisis publicist Howard Bragman said was too much.
What’s Next: It’s unclear what projects Smith still has in development or if a studio is willing to hire him to topline their next film.