There are major shifting tides in the entertainment industry, and one of the biggest is the impending merger between Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount-Skydance. With Warner’s extensive library of TV and movie properties added to its own, Paramount will leapfrog to the forefront of the TV/movie industry, while also claiming a sizeable chunk of the streaming industry, alongside Netflix and Disney/Hulu.
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One of the biggest franchises that Paramount will inherit from the deal is Warner Bros.’ ownership of DC Studios and the DC Universe franchise of TV shows and films that come with it. However, the merger comes as DC Studios is just hitting its stride, with co-head James Gunn’s Superman movie being a successful relaunch of the brand, which is now set to expand rapidly into spinoffs like Supergirl and Clayface, a sequel film (Man of Tomorrow), and bold new TV visions of DC heroes (like HBO’s Lanterns).
So is the future of the DCU still set in the same stone that it was before Paramount stepped in? Some answers are now starting to become clear.
DC Studios Has Met With Paramount About the Future of the DCU
Supergirl is having its world premiere event this week, and one of the DC Studios executives who was on the red carpet was executive producer Lars P. Winther. When he was speaking with THR, Winther revealed that Paramount-Skydance boss David Ellison is already getting involved in the DCU franchise. Winther confirmed that DC Studios heads James Gunn and Peter Safran have met with Ellison to talk about the future of the DCU franchise.
“He came to Trilith [Studios] already. That’s where we shoot all our movies that James directs,” Winther explained. “He came to Atlanta, we showed him everything, and we’re having discussions with him.”
Winther went on to lay out a blueprint that will see the next DCU films expanding upon the Superman family arc, with both David Corenswet’s Superman and Milly Alcock’s Supergirl being prominent characters. DC Studios heads James Gunn and Peter Safran clearly have a vision they are executing on, but the question is whether or not plans will change because Ellison mandates it. As with any mergers or acquisitions, things may start off looking like business as usual, with the new boss coming in with the typical “hands off” approach, initially. However, typically, that same boss’s hand eventually does take the wheel, and the best laid plans get changed.
For DC fans, this is deja vu all over again. The entire DC TV/movie franchise has been labeled as “cursed” by some fans, due to the number of times the franchise has seen its planned universe started, stopped, revised, and rebooted… only for the entire cycle to start over again. From George Miller’s Justice League: Mortal in the 2000s, to Zack Snyder’s divisive “DCEU” era, and the push-pull with Gunn’s DC “Gunnverse,” and now, the Paramount merger and another massive shift in the Warner Bros. executive structure.
So far, fans don’t seem to have any reason to panic; then again, the best indicator of future behavior is past behavior. The box office success of Supergirl and Clayface (and ratings/hype around Lanterns) suddenly seems so much more important.
Supergirl is opening in theaters this week. Discuss the future of the DCU with us on the ComicBook Forum!
Forum Conversation: Does Supergirl deserve the low opening weekend projections?
Go to ForumIt was always going to perform worse for a myriad of unfair reasons, I think it’ll be fine as long as DC Studios understood all of this beforehand and didn’t expect a batman level box office return that even superman couldn’t achieve
Do we think this could have done better at the box office if it had a less competitive release date? I get wanting it to be a big summer blockbuster, but June was loaded (including Toy Story 5) and July is stacked too. Part of me feels like if Supergirl came out in the spring maybe the tracking would be higher – at least for opening weekend.
That would suck. But yeah it’s weird how there isn’t anything with a confirmed release date after Man of Tomorrow. Maybe that’ll change at SDCC?