DC’s Black Canary Movie Reportedly Still in Development Amid HBO Max Changes

The future of DC’s live-action and animated content has gone through a whirlwind in the past week, following Warner Bros. Discovery’s recent shelving of the already-completed Batgirl movie. That project’s fate has led many to wonder what the future holds for other projects, including the Black Canary solo movie, which was first reported to be in development for the HBO Max streaming service around a year ago. According to a new report from TVLine, a spokesperson for Warner Bros. Pictures has confirmed that Black Canary remains in development at the streaming service.

While this will undoubtedly be good news for Black Canary fans — especially those who are fans of Jurnee Smollett’s take on Dinah Lance / Black Canary, who first debuted in 2020’s Birds of Prey movie — it also raises a lot of questions regarding the film’s ultimate future. Comments from Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav have seemingly hinted that the studio does not want to release major movies on streaming, instead hoping to make its upcoming films — particularly its DC ventures — big enough to release in theaters. There’s always a chance that Black Canary could be retooled into a larger-scale theatrical blockbuster before production starts, similarly to what happened to the studio’s Blue Beetle movie. There’s also the question of whether or not the Black Canary project 
could ultimately end up as a smaller-scale HBO Max movie anyway, or possibly even be retooled into a television series.

The Black Canary movie is being written by Misha Green, Smollett’s previous collaborator on Lovecraft Country and Underground. While Smollett is unable to tease the specifics of the film, she did thank the fans for being so vocal about wanting to see her portray the role again.

“I can’t talk about it, as you know,” Smollett explained in a laugh in a recent interview. “But I can say I really am excited about what we’re developing.”

“Truly, one of the great joys of my professional career has been playing Black Canary and to see the response from the fans online and engaging on Twitter,” Smollett revealed. “They are a massive reason why I am where I am, and any excitement I have about continuing on the Black Canary trajectory, it’s being made possible because of the fans.”

What do you think of the latest update surrounding DC’s Black Canary movie? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!