Warner Bros. Discovery Reportedly Frustrated With J.J. Abrams’ DC Comics Projects Not Having Made It to Air

Back in 2019, producer and director J.J. Abrams, who is known for Lost, Star Trek, Star Wars, and more officially moved the entirety of his Bad Robot production studio to WarnerMedia. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Abrams’s Demimonde is currently “on the bubble” as Warner Bros. Discovery is reportedly frustrated with the producer’s “the lack of output” from Bad Robot’s $250 million overall deal. 

Demimonde is the first show Abrams has written since Fringe debuted in 2008, and it’s been reported that the show has been in the works since 2018 and is looking at a budget of over $200 million, which is even more than HBO’s House of the Dragon. THR reports that the decision to continue with Demimonde is expected to come later this week, and Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav continues to be “frustrated with the lack of delivery from the deal that was signed back in September 2019 after Abrams and Bad Robot met with suitors including Apple as they shopped for a rich new pact.” 

Abrams has other projects in the work with the company, including an adult animated Batman series that would reunite Abrams with Matt Reeves, who recently helmed The Batman. Other originals from Abrams include HBO Max’s Subject to Change as well as a U2 scripted series that the studio is producing for Netflix. Apple’s Presumed Innocent and HBO Max’s Duster are just some of the other projects that Bad Robot has in the pipeline. 

THR reports that other DC projects are being discussed, including Constantine and Madame X. However, the frustration reportedly continues as “Abrams has laid claim to a number of DC characters but has yet to get anything on the air.”  As for Demimonde, Abrams is helming the pilot, but the series has already switched showrunners. The show is supposed to star Danielle Deadwyler (Station Eleven, Watchmen). Despite the reported troubles between Zaslav and Abrams, THR says the deal with Bad Robot is not currently in danger. “Bad Robot, it’s worth noting, has been rapidly expanding into divisions including gaming and podcasting,” THR explains. 

Back in 2019, it was reported that Bad Robot chose Warner Bros. over Apple because of the “deep bench” of properties. 

“It is a thrill for Katie [McGrath], Brian [Weinstein], and me and the rest of our team at Bad Robot to call WarnerMedia our company’s new home,” Abrams shared in a statement when the deal was made. “John Stankey has a powerful vision for the future of WarnerMedia and is committed to storytelling that connects people around the world. We are excited and gratified to be a part of this new chapter under his and Ann Sarnoff’s thoughtful leadership. I could go on for hours, and probably will, about the extraordinary Peter Roth and the entire Warner’s television group, with whom we’ve worked for over a decade, and I’ve wanted to collaborate with Toby Emmerich and his team for as long as I can remember. I am grateful for the chance to write, produce and direct work for this incredible company, and to help create films and series with a diverse and vast collection of inspiring storytellers. We can’t wait to get started.”

What do you think about the current status of Bad Robot’s deal with Warner Bros. Discovery? Tell us in the comments.