Netflix Buying Warner Bros. Might Not Be Bad News For DC Comics (Here’s Why)

It’s been a wild week for the entertainment industry when news hit late this week that Netflix is set to buy Warner Bros. in a deal just shy of $83 billion. While the deal is far from complete and still has to get through various regulatory hurdles, should the sale go through, it will mark a major shift in the overall entertainment landscape with far-reaching impact for movies, television, and more for a very long time to come. A big part of the “more” in that equation is DC Comics. DC Comics is a valuable property thanks primarily to its IP and while there is concern Netflix might not have use for comics, it’s just as possible that Netflix might actually be good for DC.

As with any major merger, there are going to be shifts and changes but between Netflix’s existing interest in comics-based projects, DC’s current publishing success streak with its Absolute line, and Netflix’s forays into tie-in comics, DC might not only weather this latest corporate acquisition it could end up thriving in unexpected ways.

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Netflix Is Already No Stranger To Comics Based Content; Owning DC Will Make This Easier

Starting off, Netflix at least understands the value of the stories comics tells and that’s reflected in its original content. Series such as The Umbrella Academy, Sandman, I Am Not Okay With This, The Old Guard movies, and more are all based on comics and while those are just a small sample of programming and is representative of somewhat mixed success, DC Comics offers Netflix a much richer catalog to draw from over anything they’ve ever had before. That gives the streamer access to not only a known quantity but characters and stories that have a proven history of success.

This actually puts the comics in a pretty good place. New stories coming out in print could work as sort of a test for what kinds of stories might work for film and television adaptation and because Netflix will already own them by virtue of being DC’s new parent company, it streamlines things greatly, at least in terms of a rights-acquisition. That isn’t to say that this sort of thing wouldn’t have an impact on DC’s publishing lineup. It could lead to some titles being cut and some characters being seen less, but that happens periodically based on comics sales now as it is. The point here is that just because Netflix doesn’t do comics traditionally and are a digital product broadly doesn’t mean that they won’t see the value of print.

DC Comics Is Already In a Good Place — And Netflix Might Leave Well-Enough Alone

DC might offer Netflix real value in another sense, however, in that DC Comics is already in a good place. The comics side of things has been doing quite well over the past few years and is currently operating in a place of strength. Thanks in part to the popularity (and quality) of the Absolute universe, DC is beating Marvel and seems to be thriving. With things running smoothly and still putting out well-crafted, character-driven stories that are obvious choices for future adaptation into other media, Netflix has no real need to do much other than take a hands-off approach in the grand scheme.

That isn’t to say that there couldn’t or wouldn’t be some changes. Netflix does have its own comic book ties — such as Mark Millar’s Millarworld and various things that have been licensed to Dark Horse, such as Stranger Things, for adaptation. It wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to think that if the Warner Bros. deal does go through and Netflix took ownership of DC Comics, Netflix could shift those things under DC’s umbrella. It would be a cost-effective move and one that would give them more control as well.

Ultimately, there’s a long road between this week’s acquisition announcement and the deal being done. There are details that haven’t been revealed yet, more that still need to be worked out, and it’s still entirely possible that everything will fall apart before it crosses the finish line and this whole speculation process will start again. The one thing that is certain at this moment, however, is that while there is plenty of uncertainty, DC Comics’ future still looks pretty bright. After all, the purpose of any acquisition is to go bigger, not smaller, and owning one of the biggest comic book publishers in the world is really nothing but worlds of potential.

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