No, Netflix Isn’t Going to Restore the Snyderverse After Buying Warner Bros. (But Maybe It Should)

The entertainment industry is losing its collective mind right now. Reports have been circulating for months about Warner Bros. Discovery being up for sale. Of course, it’s not every day that a legacy studio goes on the market, so all the heavy hitters prepared bids. Paramount made it known that it wanted a chance at the big prize, but its executives couldn’t help but feel something fishy was going on, and they released a statement revealing that WBD was working behind the scenes to get a deal done with none other than Netflix. Best known for its streaming platform, Netflix is looking to expand its horizons and believes that acquiring WBD will help it do so.

One of the most appealing aspects of owning WBD is its impressive IP library. A Harry Potter TV show is in the works at HBO Max right now, and there’s no doubt that Netflix would love to have a say in how the show progresses and what becomes of the rest of the Wizarding World. However, the Internet can’t look that far ahead because of the elephant in the room: the Snyderverse. While it’s hard to believe that bringing Zack Snyder’s superhero franchise back from the dead is a priority for Netflix, it would actually be a good way for the company to have its cake and eat it, too.

Netflix Has Always Been the Only Hope for the Snyderverse

WB put its faith in Snyder back in the early 2010s, when it wanted to take its DC characters and create a franchise that could rival the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Rather than copying what Marvel Studios was doing, Snyder decided to take the DC Extended Universe in a darker direction, focusing on the struggles that heroes face. The result was a mixed bag, with a few films doing well at the box office, while others flopped both critically and at the box office. After less than a decade, WB decided to throw in the towel and hand the keys over to James Gunn. At that point, Snyder was already long gone, having taken his talents to Netflix, which gave his Rebel Moon series the green light.

While promoting his sci-fi franchise, Snyder was asked about the future of the DCEU, and, wanting to look good in front of his new bosses, he said he would give it another go if Netflix acquired the rights to the characters. The filmmaker’s most diehard fans took those comments and ran with them, pleading for Netflix to cut a deal with WB and bring back their favorite characters. It was a pipe dream, to say the least, but recent developments have rekindled the fire. If the sale is made official, Netflix will have to field questions about the future of DC, including whether it will put its hands in Gunn’s cookie jar. However, it can dance around the subject entirely if it takes the easy layup.

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Bringing Back the Snyderverse Could Help Netflix in More Ways Than One

For those not worried about capes and lore drops, the big concern about Netflix owning WBD is that fewer movies may head to theaters. Netflix is famous for going toe-to-toe with filmmakers over theatrical releases, wanting to save all the fun for its streaming service. While it’s hard to believe that Gunn and Co. will be forced to push all of their content to the small screen, Netflix has a unique oppurtunity to keep DC Studios intact while also building something else. The Snyderverse could return exclusively on Netflix, with Snyder returning to produce new shows and movies with familiar faces. That way, everyone gets what they want, and DC can compete with Marvel on two fronts.

Now, there are a few roadblocks in this scenario. For starters, Netflix and Snyder are no longer on the best of terms, since the company cancelled all of his projects after the Rebel Moon movies failed to make a real impact. WBD has also been hesitant in the past to have multiple iterations of certain characters active at the same time. All that could be smoothed over with a few conversations, though, especially since this arrangement could ease the world’s concerns about the industry’s future.

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