The DC Connected Universe (The Batman 2 Delayed a Full Year to October 2026)

joey con carne wrote:I see someone took a course in diversity, tolerance, and inclusion.

I went to get a car wash this morning and the line packed out onto the street. Don't people work? LOL

Guess I'll go next week.

Rumor: Robert Pattinson’s Dark Knight Getting “Phased Out” Of DC Film Universe After Matt Reeves Completes His Planned Trilogy

A recent article hints that there is not much of a future for Robert Pattinson as The Batman or the world director Matt Reeves is trying to build around him.

The article by That Hashtag Show articulates what we can expect DC to be like under the David Zaslav regime at Warner Discovery, noting both the projects that have been canceled and the ones that will soon be canned.

This includes Batgirl, Wonder Twins, and we recently learned HBO Max’s Strange Adventures can be added to that list but it doesn’t end there. Unfortunately, a few Dark Knights are on that queue as well.

THS says “there are some plans to make some substantial changes” at DC Films including the Kevin Feige-quality point man for operations and the canceling or shelving of projects in development.

Some things the old guard at WarnerMedia believed in will consequently be “slowly phased out” at a certain point and The Batman came up in this regard.

It’s said that “Reeves is expected to finish his Batman trilogy, and after that, it’s expected that this iteration of Batman will be phased out.”

This is troubling for Reeves and Pattinson because the former made it perfectly clear he wants to layer his universe with streaming shows exploring the underbelly of Arkham, Penguin’s rise to power, and how the police got so corrupt.

The Batman’s Penguin spin-off is set to film next year and Arkham is still in development but things aren’t looking good for their status. The same can be said for Blue Beetle which, much like Batgirl, was made for HBO Max and is done filming.

Joker 2: Folie a Deux is the only exception THS heard about from their sources — no doubt due to Joker being a profitable billion-dollar grosser. While the killer clown gets the last laugh, poetically, another Batman seems to be falling by the wayside.

Michael Keaton joins Pattinson in getting phased out. Between Batgirl’s cancelation and partial confirmation Ben Affleck is participating in a reworking of The Flash and Aquaman 2 scenes, Keaton’s hyped comeback looks bleak.

DC Films head Walter Hamada planned to use The Flash to reboot the DCEU with a Flashpoint timeline that brought in Keaton’s ‘89 Batman and introduced replacement heroes Batgirl and Supergirl — played by Leslie Grace and Sasha Calle, respectively.

Their own solo films’ demise takes Keaton’s Batman along with them, and without Batgirl nor a cameo in Aquaman 2, there is scant justification to have him around.

Hamada’s bigger plans are just as done for. According to Hashtag Show, he wanted to build toward a Crisis-level event to reboot the DCEU. This is no longer happening but would’ve been the original pretext for bringing Affleck back.

Again, the latter is taken care of although a soft reboot of some kind for the Justice League is still said to be in play, and that will bring back more characters from previous films — except for Ezra Miller given current events and prior reports Zaslav is done with “them” after The Flash.

There are rumors and a strong belief all is leading to the restoration of the Snyderverse that began in 2013 with Man of Steel. It’s speculative for now but going back to The Batman, things are hazier for that trilogy. A release date and story for part 2 are undetermined; the former possibly years away, even.

Will the DCEU be shorter one Batman — the youngest one? Tell us your thoughts in the comments.

Source: BoundingIntoComics

Now that David Zaslav and Discovery’s takeover of Warner Bros. is complete, or close to it, the question of what he’s going to do with DC cinematically is approaching an answer.

And since this conundrum only has one of two solutions, fans prayed and predicted Zaslav would select the salient and tantalizing option of restoring the Snyderverse — which there has been a clamoring for the last couple of years; manipulated or not.

The rumor mill, where Mikey Sutton of Geekosity and vlogger Syl Abdul lead the vanguard, is hot and heavy with speculation that restoring the Zack Snyder timeline is exactly what Zaslav is going to do; according to a recent scoop by Abdul, that is what’s happening.

Abdul says, based on what he heard from his sources, Zaslav is sticking with the Snyderverse timeline and the key indicator is Ben Affleck.

The Batman v Superman and Justice League actor is returning for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom after some reshoots and now that the film is put in a slot preceding the release of The Flash.

Affleck allegedly replaces Michael Keaton, who was coming back to fill the Batman void but that was supposed to begin with The Flash. Now the ’89 Caped Crusader’s presence would be confusing if not extraneous.

But this is only the beginning. It is rumored Affleck is in reshoots for The Flash as well to film extra scenes. The exact nature of those scenes is unknown though the belief is they expand the actor’s part in the film.

Recall there was an additional rumor that ‘Batfleck’ was going to die until this idea was overruled and an end-credit scene will show him flung into the future of the Snyderverse — the Knightmare reality ruled by evil Superman and Darkseid.

According to Abdul, the clear implication is that Affleck has more to do and will stick around as Zaslav wants no other Batman than the one belonging to DCEU.

“Zaslav chose Affleck because he wanted to keep the timeline,” he said. This jibes with Mikey Sutton’s intel from his insiders — “Warner Bros. Discovery wants to reload and not reboot the DCEU.”

Zaslav had the chance to reboot things with The Flash as it stood and Batgirl. He didn’t want the Flashpoint timeline, however, and shelved the latter because it either tested badly or they killed off Keaton’s character unceremoniously.

Whatever the case, Zack Snyder’s Justice League, Man of Steel, and BVS are going to be canon again and the Snyderverse is going to be restored sooner than expected, say Abdul and Sutton.

The only thing missing is Henry Cavill. Does he still have a future as Superman? Abdul heard this is affirmative but we have to wait two months for Black Adam to release in order to find out.

Source: BoundingIntoComics

Tyger wrote:Much as I love Keaton and enjoyed The Batman, I really want more Batfleck too so no problem with that.

UltimateMarvel wrote:Damn, how does one reload the DCEU? They are taking the easier path I think. If they manage to recast Ezra and Amber, I think they could have something to work with but not for long. They've already used up a huge chunk already. And they better find a way to keep Cavill.

Batfleck is great as Batman no doubt though.

Tyger wrote:I also need to rewatch The Batman, saw it once in theaters but haven’t watched it since. I’m happy they’re doing a trilogy but I doubt I’d need more.

Afleck is probably equal to Keaton for me, honestly. I love them both as Bruce Wayne and Batman. Keaton got to be Batman more in his element with the best Gotham City and Batmobile to date against his own foes and Afleck jumped in to a bigger world being introduced in BvS so there’s very little of him in his element but what we see is really fucking good. He’s the only Batman to move and fight like Batman.

Tyger wrote:I also need to rewatch The Batman, saw it once in theaters but haven’t watched it since. I’m happy they’re doing a trilogy but I doubt I’d need more.

Afleck is probably equal to Keaton for me, honestly. I love them both as Bruce Wayne and Batman. Keaton got to be Batman more in his element with the best Gotham City and Batmobile to date against his own foes and Afleck jumped in to a bigger world being introduced in BvS so there’s very little of him in his element but what we see is really fucking good. He’s the only Batman to move and fight like Batman.

WyldeMan wrote:

Tyger wrote:I also need to rewatch The Batman, saw it once in theaters but haven’t watched it since. I’m happy they’re doing a trilogy but I doubt I’d need more.

Afleck is probably equal to Keaton for me, honestly. I love them both as Bruce Wayne and Batman. Keaton got to be Batman more in his element with the best Gotham City and Batmobile to date against his own foes and Afleck jumped in to a bigger world being introduced in BvS so there’s very little of him in his element but what we see is really fucking good. He’s the only Batman to move and fight like Batman.

At this point I would not call Matt Reeves Batman trilogy a foregone conclusion. Zaslav does not seem to be a fan and he's made it clear that he loves Batfleck most and has big plans for him. Right now, The Penguin series on HBO Max is looking likely to be cancelled before production ever begins and it was supposed to tie into the sequel. Now it would seem that Pattinson's Batman might be headed for the back burner with Warner Bros Discovery no longer prioritizing Reeves vision. I would not be surprised if we didn't get anything past The Batman 2 but even that might not happen for several years if at all. I haven't heard anything about a script being written and with the upcoming Joker 2 now a huge fast tracked priority for the studio, are they really going to be in a rush?
 
Batfleck is equal to Keaton for you? Wow.

I do seem to recall Batfleck's fighting style being a big step up from Baleman's. I'll have to pay more attention on my next viewing.

joey con carne wrote:I recall a lot Bale's Batman fighting as shaky-cam and super-closeups.

I love Affleck's Batman costume. I think that one is my favorite of all the Batman's except for George Clooney's with the nipples. Remember that? LOL!

Batman: Caped Crusader, which 15 months ago received a series order from HBO Max and Cartoon Network, is among six animated projects  that are no longer being produced for HBO Max, sources confirm for TVLine.

TVLine hears that all six projects, mostly from Warner Bros. Animation, will continue production while they are shopped to other outlets.

This news of course comes amid numerous programming changes at an in-transition HBO Max, where some projects are being nixed and others that already stream on the service are being (not-so-)quietly removed.

Batman: Caped Crusader is an animated reimagining of the Batman mythology by way of Batman: The Animated Series‘ own Bruce Timm, with J.J. Abrams, Matt Reeves and Ed Brubaker also serving as EPs. Reeves of course directed The Batman, the big screen’s most recent live-action take on the Dark Knight (now played by Robert Pattinson), while Abrams — in addition to of course numerous Star Trek and Star Wars projects, plus TV’s Lost and Alias — is an EP on HBO Max’s still-in-development Justice League Dark series.

Utilizing state-of-the-art animation techniques and technologies, the creative partnership between WB Animation and the EPs promises to “reinvent Batman and his iconic rogue’s gallery with sophisticated storytelling, nuanced characters and intense action sequences all set in a visually striking world.”

Source: TVLine

EXCLUSIVE: Warner Bros is going all in on The Batman director Matt Reeves and his 6th & Idaho production company. He has become the first filmmaker given an overall first look film deal since Warner Bros Pictures Group Co-Chairs/CEOs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy were hired by Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav to steer the film division. In addition, Reeves has re-upped with the Warner Bros. Television Group and Chairman Channing Dungey, where he is also working on The Batman spinoff series The Penguin with Colin Farrell.

Reeves and 6th & Idaho had a first look film deal at Netflix. Reeves is spending so much time on film and TV projects relating to The Batman franchise that it made perfect sense for him to call Warner Bros home with the multi-year first look. De Luca and Abdy hope to see him grow into the kind of cornerstone filmmaker that Todd Phillips has been with The Hangover and Joker franchises, and what Clint Eastwood has been forever at the studio.

“Making this legendary studio my home is a dream,” said Reeves in a statement. “I am so excited to be working with Mike, Pam, and Channing and our teams to bring captivating stories I am truly passionate about to the big and small screen.”

Under the terms of the film deal, Warner Bros. Pictures Group’s production divisions – Warner Bros. Pictures, New Line Cinema, Warner Animation Group and DC-based Films – will have first-look rights to Reeves’ work as a writer, director and/or producer. Reeves is currently back at work on the sequel, co-writing with Mattson Tomlin the second installment of a DC resuscitation that drew strong reviews and a global gross north of $770 million. Robert Pattinson is back for the sequel as the title character.

As part of the new deal, Reeves has begun a search to find a senior level executive to run the new film deal for 6th & Idaho. Dylan Clark, who has been Reeves’ producing partner on the Planet of the Apes trilogy and The Batman, is also back for the sequel but runs his own production label. Reeves won’t take office space on the lot, but rather will stay in 6th & Idaho’s current headquarters.

“Pam and I gratefully inherited the relationship with Matt from The Batman, and through the beginning stages of planning The Penguin series for HBO Max,” De Luca told Deadline. “We were excited to nail down his overall deal because it’s a cornerstone of what we want to do with the filmmakers that are working at the studio. We want to create an atmosphere where all of these filmmakers can excel and do their work and stay with us once they are inside the Warners family. Keeping Matt and creating a home for him to do more projects in the Batman universe but also originals, was very important to us.”

The 6th & Idaho re-up with Warner Bros. Television Group comes as a production start looms for The Penguin, with Colin Farrell reprising his Oswald Cobblepot role for HBO Max. There is also a Batman Arkham series in discussion. Daniel Pipski continues to run the 6th & Idaho TV business, with longtime executive Rafi Crohn working across both film and TV.

“Matt is one of the most imaginative and creative minds in the business,” said Channing Dungey, Chairman, Warner Bros. Television Group. “We look forward to continuing our partnership with the wonderful 6th & Idaho team and expanding the world Matt so artfully created with The Batman film through our upcoming series The Penguin.”

Signing Reeves, who works on the large canvas that studios want, is a win for the film regime, which got off to a provocative start with the scrapping of the HBO Max films Batgirl and the animated Scoob!. While the axing of those finished moves were handled a bit roughly, they have been conflated in a snarky press reports to WB plans to make the Barry Levinson-directed mob movie Wise Guys. Insiders at the studio tell me that in nixing Batgirl, the film group halted an expensive TV film that didn’t fit the new strategy that calls for high end theatrical fare that then finds its place on HBO Max, after a short PVOD window. Taking advantage of a one time write-off maneuver allowed the Motion Picture Group to lessen whatever layoffs it will have to make. That number that won’t be as high as sister division HBO Max because Discovery had no film arm and there is no duplicative manpower to be trimmed. De Luca and Abdy are culling through development projects that don’t fit the new mandate and were geared to feed HBO Max. and chip away at the cost trimming requirements laid on them by Zaslav.

This has nothing to do with Wise Guys being on the first slate of pictures. Here is why De Luca and Abdy embraced a film they could have turned down: it has a $45 million budget, it will be the last mob movie made by Robert De Niro, at the studio that historically hatched the gangster film genre. It is scripted by Pileggi, who with Martin Scorsese created two of De Niro’s best mob films in Goodfellas and Casino. Also, De Luca’s work with Levinson and De Niro on the satire Wag the Dog was a high point in New Line’s film catalogue. Wise Guys might fail, but at a reasonable price point.

To De Luca and Abdy, the Reeves deal signifies the direction that they want Warner Bros headed, a filmmaker-friendly lot that was the studio’s image during its heyday.

“Warners always had a tradition of being a home base for filmmakers, Clint Eastwood being preeminent among them,” De Luca said. “We want to continue that tradition, especially with people we’ve had success with. We want to create an atmosphere where we get repeat business with these filmmakers. We feel any studio built on the basis of having a roster of filmmakers working at the studio over and over again, is a good business strategy.” Said Abdy: “We see it as just essential for the health of the studio to be a vibrant place for writer/directors, and for signature filmmakers to do multiple movies with us.”

They said the studio will empower Reeves to become a cornerstone filmmaker there.

“Someone like Matt, we’ll buy for him whatever he wants to do,” De Luca said. “We’re making an investment for whatever Matt feels a pull toward, in the Batman universe and otherwise. He has an open invitation to go wherever his interests take him. We’ll lean into whatever Matt wants to do. In terms of the writer/directors out there working in this very elevated genre space, with everything Matt’s done, from Let Me In to the Apes trilogy to The Batman, he’s in a class by himself.”

Deadline

Exclusive: Colin Farrell Penguin Series Will Feature Joker And Scarecrow

Earlier today, it had been announced that Matt Reeves signed a film deal with Warner Bros Pictures. He also signed a deal with Warner Bros Television too. This is huge news, which all but confirms that The Batman 2 is moving forward. Even more exciting is that DC will also be working with the man on his upcoming spinoff series. This new spinoff series sees Colin Farrell return as Penguin and shows his rise to becoming a huge crime figure in Gotham. However, there is even more news happening with the series. Through our trusted and proven sources, we can report that Joker and Scarecrow will be in the Penguin series.

It should come as no shock that Matt Reeves is bringing in some of the main villains from Batman’s Rogues Gallery to the Colin Farrell Penguin series. With Penguin, Riddler, and Catwoman already making their debuts, it makes complete sense that Joker and Scarecrow would now be added to that list. The only one missing past this point is Two-Face. However, we have not yet been introduced to Dent, so that could be happening as part of the sequel film, or possibly in the third of the planned trilogy. We did see Joker appear at the end of The Batman, where he was speaking to Riddler about a “come back.” Another look at Joker was released via a deleted scene. This scene gave everyone a much better look at Barry Keoghan as Batman’s greatest foe.

Bringing in Scarecrow might be a bit trickier, but we did see Arkham in the previously mentioned end scene with Joker and Riddler. Dr. Johnathan Crane could be brought in to “study” both Riddler and Joker, leaving him to want to further his own aims to stop Batman and become a master villain. Plenty of stories pulled from the comics and video games see Gotham split into territories that are controlled by Penguin, Scarecrow, and Joker, which could be a huge reason why they are brought into the Colin Farrell Penguin series. They are all the biggest villains, so this new series might detail Penguin’s rise along with Scarecrow and Joker aiding that rise. They could form a team of sorts as well, as they have lofty ambitions to take down Batman and rule Gotham. Joker had mentioned that to Riddler, so a team-up makes a ton of sense.

The Batman 2 is currently being written by both Matt Reeves and Mattson Tomlin. But before we are to see what happens with Robert Pattinson’s Caped Crusader, this new Colin Farrell Penguin series will seemingly debut first. It will be the bridging point between the two Batman films and show how Penguin rises to power after the death of Carmine Falcone. Bringing in Joker and Scarecrow is a bonus.

No one has been able to capture the magic that was set forth by Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, but Matt Reeves has come close. He has done a spectacular job with The Batman. This neo-noir film showcased a much different look at the Dark Knight and brought everyone as close to Nolan’s Batman as anyone has come in years. Bringing in Joker and Scarecrow to the Colin Farrell Penguin series sounds like Reeves is going for the traditional team-up, but likely loaded with tons of betrayal. We can’t wait to see what happens next.

Source: GiantFreakinRobot

Exclusive: Barry Keoghan Joker Show In Development From Matt Reeves

Yesterday the world was thrilled to find out that Matt Reeves signed a major deal with Warner Bros for his many upcoming DC films. The same was made for Warner Bros Television, which will see Reeves make his new Batman universe that much more expansive. A series is already being worked on that will drive forward the rise of Colin Farrell’s Penguin. We also reported that Joker and Scarecrow were going to be featured in that series. Well, through our trusted and proven sources, we can also report that Reeves is now working on a Barry Keoghan Joker show.

This is huge news considering the number of backstories that exist in the Batman universe. With a Penguin series already being worked on, and an Arkham Asylum series being developed, this new Barry Keoghan Joker show could add even more of a rich tapestry that will build up Robert Pattinson’s Dark Knight. We did get a small taste of Barry Keoghan in the role, as he spoke to Riddler at the end of The Batman. His dialogue indicated that Joker and Riddler would be teaming up in the future. Also, an additional deleted scene was released to the world via a riddle, which contained an even deeper look at Joker. Keoghan was equal parts horrifying and spectacular when speaking to Batman. We honestly can’t wait to see the villain transformed in this manner.

Although Todd Phillips gave us the Joaquin Phoenix version of the Joker, that version does not exist in the same timeline or world as Pattinson’s Batman. That is simply because the Joker film saw Phoenix approach a child version of Bruce Wayne. Unless Joker plans to fight Batman in his 60s, Phoenix and Pattinson are unlikely to meet. Apart from that, we have not been given a great iteration of the Joker since Heath Ledger took on the role, but this new Barry Keoghan Joker show could give us that same level of performance that Ledger and Phoenix have provided. Joker and Batman will certainly fight in the Matt Reeves storyline.

This new Barry Keoghan Joker show might also introduce us to a more horrific Joker. Although we only saw the character from blurred shots and mostly behind his head, his face looks to be a lot more disturbing than in previous versions. There have been these types of iterations in the comics, and it sounds like Matt Reeves might be bringing those versions together for this new series and films. It would make sense as The Batman was much darker than previous films as well, so a more macabre Joker would certainly fit.

We are not entirely sure when this Barry Keoghan Joker show is going to premiere, but it could be part of the expansive universe that ties into The Batman 2. The Penguin series is going to presumably be released before the sequel, so this new Joker series might follow the sequel. This is just speculation, but it sounds like Matt Reeves’s new deal and our reports indicate that Batman is going to be part of DC’s plans for the foreseeable future.

Source: GiantFreakinRobot

The sequels to Aquaman and Shazam! are departing their release dates in another major reshuffling at Warner Bros.

The James Wan-directed Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom has been pushed back more than eight months from March 17, 2023 to Dec. 25, 2023, the studio announced Wednesday.

Aquaman and the Lost City will see the return of Jason Momoa superhero, as well as Patrick Wilson’s Orm Marius and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s Black Manta. It was recently revealed that Ben Affleck’s Batman will return for Aquaman 2. The first Aquaman was a major earner for Warner Bros/ DC, grossing more than $1 billion at the global box office.

Also moving is Shazam! sequel, Fury of the Gods, which was meant to come out in December of this year. It has landed on Aquaman‘s old date, March 17, 2023.

The Hollywood Reporter first reported earlier this month that the two movies were likely to move — including Aquaman moving to Christmas — as new owner Warner Bros. Discovery looks to spread out the marketing and distribution costs associated with releasing a studio tentpole. When asked at the time about the pending release date changes, a spokesperson for Warners declined comment.

Shazam!, released in 2019, was a modest hit by superhero standards with $365.9 million, but was well-liked and praised for bringing a youthful energy to the genre. It told the story of a foster kid named Billy Batson (Asher Angel) who transformed into the hero Shazam (Levi). The sequel adds franchise newcomers Lucy Liu, Helen Mirren, and Rachel Zegler, with the movie having had a massive debut last month at San Diego Comi-Con, where the film’s trailer premiered.

The release date changes comes amid tumult for other DC properties, most notably Batgirl. The once HBO Max-bound movie was shelved and will not be released on any platform, despite being completely finished and having a $90 million price tag.

The unusual move comes after a change in leadership at Warners, with newly installed Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav prioritizing cost-cutting measures and refocusing Warners on creating theatrical films rather than projects for streaming.

Warners announced a slew of other changes and additions to its upcoming theatrical release calendar, including taking Salem’s Lot off its April, 21, 2023 date. No new date was announced.

Other changes include dating New Line’s redux House Party for Dec. 9, 2022, Evil Dead Rise for April 21, 2023 and The Nun 2 for Sept. 8, 2023.

On the HBO Max side of the aisle, Warners announced a slew of 2022 holiday release dates for straight-to-streaming movies. A Christmas Story Christmas will hit the service on Nov. 17, 2022, followed by Holiday Holiday and A Christmas Mystery on Nov. 24, 2022 and a Hollywood Christmas on Dec. 1, 2022.

Source: TheHollywoodReporter

UltimateMarvel wrote:Damn! That's a big jump for Aquaman 2 but with the reshoots, I guess I can understand. Shazam 2 didn't need to be moved though. They just don't have movies to fill those slots so they're working with what they have.

WyldeMan wrote:Zaslav wants as much Batfleck in Aquaman 2 as he can get so he's delaying it until they can get more Batfleck. Just kidding....or not.

More cost cutting measures it seems. At least that's the reason given in the article, WBD want to spread out all the marketing campaigns required for tent pole releases.

Meanwhile right after killing Batgirl to allegedly save $10 million, Zaslav spent $100 million on promoting the series premiere of House of the Dragon.

They can publicly claim that it's about VFX delays, cost cutting or letting scandals die down but in the end it's all about the decisions of one man.

UltimateMarvel wrote:I hope Affleck gets the chance for a solo Batman movie that was planned years ago. Loved the idea of him being trapped in Arkham, Batman surviving the night and trying to get out alive would make for an interesting movie.

Holy cow, what an August for Warner Bros. executives and DC fans, who can’t have this month end fast enough.

The Burbank lot was already tense enough with the Warner Bros. Discovery merger and its aftereffects. Then the scrapping of Batgirl became the film story of the summer, and morale just fell off a cliff.

Then came this week. The animated Batman series The Caped Crusader, a potential jewel in the making, was no longer being madefor HBO Max, causing confusion and a panic that it was being cancelled. (It’s not. More on that later.) 

Then Wednesday the studio announced it wasn’t releasing Shazam! Fury of the Gods this year, pushing it into March. And it moved Aquaman: The Lost Kingdom from its March 2023 date to December 2023. Why? Because Warners can’t afford the marketing and other associated costs, said sources.

Plunging morale (here we go again with that), and morbid curiosity snaked together this week as the studio held funeral screenings for Batgirl. The move was meant for execs and those who worked on the movie to see their work. But for some, it only underscored sore feelings, or feelings of poor taste. For others, it validated CEO David Zaslav's decision. 

On Thursday, news broke that a new head of DC screened entertainment may have been found, with producer Dan Lin in talks to take the job. Would he be Warners’ counterpart to Marvel’s Kevin Feige? Warner Bros. Discovery would only say that things are very premature. The pressure on Lin must be immense, and all divisions are watching for signs that will offer any sense of direction. A clip of him talking about his work on the ill-fated 2007 Justice League is already being dissected on social media.) 

Yes, it was one of the most eventful weeks in DC history.

And let us tell you, that wasn’t even the end of it…
 — Aaron Couch and Borys Kit 

NEWS FLASH: EZRA MILLER COMES TO THE STUDIO, HAS A SIT-DOWN WITH NEW STUDIO HEADS.

Amid all the chaos this week at the Burbank studios, one could have easily missed a pair of figures walking around the offices and heading to a meeting of the highest order. But that’s what Ezra Miller, the star of Warners’ high-profile The Flash, and their agent did Wednesday — the same day a Batgirl screening took place on the lot.

Miller, who uses they/them pronouns, and their agent had a sit-down with Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy, the heads of the motion picture division who took over the job from Toby Emmerich in July. 

Miller is facing a lot of issues — personal, professional and legal — and they know that everything, including a $250 million movie, is on the line. It was one of the most important meetings in Miller’s career.

THE NEWS THAT CAPED CRUSADER and five other animated projects were being scrapped was poorly handled and obscured the fine print.

Caped Crusader, which aimed for a bit of an older audience than the other titles, remains in production, and guess what? So are the others … Merry Little Batman, The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Toons Movie, Bye Bye Bunny: A Looney Toons Musical, Did I Do That to the Holidays: A Steve Urkel Story and The Amazing World of Gumball: The Movie are also in various stages of production.

They are not being scrapped, they just won’t be shown on HBO Max. It’s not a quality issue, but an economic and strategic issue. It is believed that the various Warners divisions making the show and movies will make more money on the titles by selling them to other outlets than having them on Warners’ own streamer.

This is yet another example of the shift away from the corporate strategy that had gripped the studios in recent years: populate your own streamer and build eyeballs. Selling what you make is what Warners, famously on the television side, did for years and years: Friends and  Fresh Prince of Bel-Air aired on NBC. Two and a Half Men and Big Bang Theory were made for CBS and The O.C. for Fox. And don’t forget that DC shows Constantine and Gotham were produced for other networks.

It is a radical 180 from the previous mandate, which gave execs and those working on the shows whiplash for sure.

Caped Crusader is already receiving intense interest from Apple, Hulu and Netflix, among others, our sources tell us. Incoming calls are always a good thing in this business.

Other good Batnews this week: Matt Reeves signed a first-look deal with the studio, reaffirming his commitment to making a sequel to his well-received Robert Pattinson-starring Dark Knight movie. And this time Mattson Tomlin is coming in on the ground floor to co-write it.

Source: THR HeatVision

UltimateMarvel wrote:A normal person with a normal job would lose said job for way less than what Ezra has been accused of. Hopefully this actually is for publicity to give The Flash some BO numbers because after that, I don't want to see this man in anything else.

WyldeMan wrote:Yes but Ezra is a celebrity and the backing of a movie studio so rules and laws that regular people are forced to follow do not actually apply to them because there is so much money involved.

UltimateMarvel wrote:

WyldeMan wrote:Yes but Ezra is a celebrity and the backing of a movie studio so rules and laws that regular people are forced to follow do not actually apply to them because there is so much money involved.

Which I understand but there has to be a fucking line. There are consequences to what we do. Anyway, I'm sure in the end what's meant to happen will happen.

WyldeMan wrote:

UltimateMarvel wrote:

WyldeMan wrote:Yes but Ezra is a celebrity and the backing of a movie studio so rules and laws that regular people are forced to follow do not actually apply to them because there is so much money involved.

Which I understand but there has to be a fucking line. There are consequences to what we do. Anyway, I'm sure in the end what's meant to happen will happen.

Consequences are for poor people.

UltimateMarvel wrote:

WyldeMan wrote:

UltimateMarvel wrote:

WyldeMan wrote:Yes but Ezra is a celebrity and the backing of a movie studio so rules and laws that regular people are forced to follow do not actually apply to them because there is so much money involved.

Which I understand but there has to be a fucking line. There are consequences to what we do. Anyway, I'm sure in the end what's meant to happen will happen.

Consequences are for poor people.

joey con carne wrote:The first time I ever saw Ben Schwartz was in Coffee Town. That movie gave me a really good laugh and I recommend to anyone who hasn't seen it yet. Josh Groban is in it, too, and he did a great job.

WyldeMan wrote:According to rumors, when Batfleck was on set reshooting the Keaton scenes from Aquaman Lost Kingdom a few weeks ago, it was said that a new mystery actress was also there reshooting Mera's scenes. We all know about the complete lack of chemistry between Momoa and Heard so the fan theories seem to indicate that Emilia Clarke could be the new Mera since she and Momoa have such electric chemistry and have remained so close after all these years, however that seems too much like the internet dream casting to me.

So once again I'm reading that Amber Heard's already quite minimal sequel role has been recast and given that there's a year and a half until the film's release, they've got more than enough time to entirely erase Amber. It's as if the studio knows more damage to the franchise is incoming from Amber and its time to cut bait.

Though we won't likely know if this is true until we see the first trailer which I can't image we'll even see before next Summer.

UltimateMarvel wrote:

joey con carne wrote:The first time I ever saw Ben Schwartz was in Coffee Town. That movie gave me a really good laugh and I recommend to anyone who hasn't seen it yet. Josh Groban is in it, too, and he did a great job.

I've seen it, it's a good funny movie. I think I've seen Ben in House of Lies first.

UltimateMarvel wrote:It would be fucking awesome! Marvel did cast Krasinski as Mr. Fantastic so you never know.

On its face, finding “the next Kevin Feige” to oversee Warner Bros. Discovery’s film and TV adaptations of DC Comics is a bit like declaring you only want to make hits. If only wishing could make it so!

Feige’s reign as the chief creative officer of Marvel Studios — overseeing the singular Marvel Cinematic Universe for film since 2006 and for streaming TV since 2018 — has earned Disney upwards of $25 billion in global box office grosses to date and helped drive Disney+ to more than 152 million subscribers worldwide. Of course, WBD CEO David Zaslav wants to emulate that success.

Dan Lin, the producer of “The Lego Batman” has emerged as one possible DC chief, as has Emma Watts, a veteran executive with stints at Paramount and 20th Century Fox. Both are well-respected with deep connections throughout Hollywood.

But Feige charted a singular path to becoming the most successful creative executive in Hollywood that afforded him the time, patience and great good fortune to build the MCU more or less from the ground up and on his terms. Whoever takes the equivalent of the Feige job at DC will, by contrast, inherit a “Justice League”-sized series of preconditions, entrenched systems and PR migraines on top of the stupendous task of building a slate of film and TV titles that could equal the MCU. Here are a few of the challenges ahead.

Dealing with the fallout from the “Batgirl” cancellation

Cancelling “Batgirl” may have made sense from a dollars and cents perspective. Zaslav is committed to making streaming movies, for a price, and “Batgirl” with its $90 million budget was thought too expensive to fit nicely into that mold. The film also, sources say, wasn’t in good enough shape to justify the $50 million needed to market and release it in theaters. So, now Zaslav gets a tax write-off. Successful comic book universes, however, aren’t run by accountants. You need great filmmakers, visionary writers and talented stars. That’s a group that may not be feeling so hot about all things Warner Bros. Discovery. To thrive, the next DC chief will need to restore relationships with talent who fear that their next project could go the way of “Batgirl” and get rudely jettisoned.

Newly minted Warner Bros. Pictures chiefs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy have been working to ameliorate the situation, possibly by finding a new project for “Batgirl” star Leslie Grace and the film’s directors Bilall Fallah and Adil El Arbi. However, trust with the wider talent community has been broken. Repairing it will take a lot longer than breaking it did.  

Managing ongoing — and unconnected — film and TV projects

OK, deep breath.

The only DC movie that currently has a greenlight post-merger is “Joker: Folie à Deux,” Todd Phillips’ follow-up to his $1 billion-grossing, Oscar-winning sensation, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga. Matt Reeves, meanwhile, is currently working on a sequel to his 2022 blockbuster “The Batman” with Robert Pattinson (Which hasn’t officially been greenlit yet, but who are we kidding? It could be a slice-of-life drama about Bruce Wayne’s trip to the Gotham Home Goods and it would likely get made) as well as a spin-off TV series centering on Colin Farrell’s the Penguin and written by Lauren LeFranc. Reeves is also developing another spin-off set in the world of “Arkham Asylum,” but that is further off. Then there’s the second season of “Peacemaker” from writer-director James Gunn, which Gunn says is still moving forward. The future of the animated series “Harley Quinn” and live-action shows “Titans” and “Doom Patrol” — all premiering new seasons this year on HBO Max — are less clear, as is what’s to become of “Constantine” and “Madame Xanadu” shows currently in development at J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot.

Some of these titles interrelate, but — by design — none of them are part of a singular DC cinematic universe, especially “Joker 2” and “The Batman 2,” which each exist in their own, wholly separate narrative realms.  

Zaslav, however, has made plain that he wants his own MCU for DC. Ironically, that was what the current head of DC’s film unit, Walter Hamada, was attempting to execute, by harnessing the expansive possibilities of the multiverse in a movie that was meant to hit the reset button for DC’s big screen storytelling.

That movie, alas, stars Ezra Miller.

Figuring out what to do with “The Flash”

In the Aug. 4 earnings call for WBD, Zaslav indicated that he still planned on moving forward with releasing “The Flash” into theaters, despite repeated, alarming headlines about allegedly abusive behavior by Miller (which, to be clear, started in April 2020, months before “The Flash” ever started shooting). Miller has since released an apology for “my past behavior,” and says that they are seeking “ongoing treatment” for “complex mental health issues.” While that statement temporarily calmed the tempest surrounding the star, it’s not certain that clear skies are on the horizon. At the very least, it means that Miller’s off-screen issues may mean he won’t be part of “The Flash” promotional rollout and that the rest of the cast and creative team will be left fielding difficult questions about the star instead of, you know, hawking the big, brassy, and escapist flick about the scarlet speedster.  

And that’s an issue, because “The Flash,” which every exec who has seen it will tell you is really good, is intended to clean up all the narrative threads left dangling by the DCU’s stop-and-start approach to cinematic universe building. The film is using time travel and the multiverse to reset the DC timeline from what had been started with 2013’s “Man of Steel” and set it on a new course. If the film does come out, however, will that plan even hold, or will it be a kind of swan song before an even harder reset button is hit?  

Which would have to wait anyway, because “The Flash” is no longer the last film of the old DC regime currently on the WB slate.

Figuring out what to do after “The Flash” (and “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom”)

“The Flash” was intended to usher in a whole new era for the DCU, but now “Aquaman 2,” which was originally intended to pre-date that film, is coming after it. It’s possible that there could be some “Aquaman 2”-related concessions to cinematic timeline adjustments. But there may be some ongoing tweaking. Michael Keaton was originally supposed to show up as Batman at the end of “Aquaman 2,” following up on the character’s return in “The Flash.” But now that Ben Affleck is also slated to appear in the Atlantis-set adventure, that may be one former Batman too many.  

However that is resolved, the new DC chief needs to find a new way to revive Superman. There are already several schools of thought there. One is to simply bring back Henry Cavill as the Man of Steel. Another would be to move forward with a J.J. Abrams-produced film that was supposed to have a script by Ta-Nehisi Coates and would have reportedly been the first to feature a Black Superman. Option three is to start from scratch or proceed with both the Abrams-Coates and Cavill versions of Supes at the same time.  

Then there’s a desire to get a third Wonder Woman project going after the second one sputtered out with critics. Presumably that would involve having Gal Gadot once again wield the lasso of truth. That’s to say nothing of plans to get films featuring Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Martian Manhunter and a panoply of other Justice Leaguers going.  

Navigating established fiefdoms at Warner Bros., HBO Max and WB TV

At Disney, Feige runs Marvel Studios as a fully separate unit from the rest of the company. By contrast, anything released under the Warner Bros. Pictures banner has traditionally gone through the office of the studio chief — which recently became occupied by De Luca and Abdy, taking over for Toby Emmerich. Ditto for HBO and HBO Max (headed by Casey Bloys) and Warner Bros. Television (run by Channing Dungey).  That means that the new DC chief likely won’t have the kind of broad authority that Feige enjoys. Instead that person will have to be adept at navigating the egos and ambitions of other executives, whose interests may not always align. That could require a nearly superhuman ability.  

Winning over the fans

Privately, studio insiders have lamented that “Zack Snyder’s Justice League” never should’ve happened. Rather than quiet the unceasing online campaigning to #ReleasetheSnyderCut, the four-hour HBO Max feature only further entrenched the vocal and extremely online “Snyderverse” fanbase in opposition to the leadership at the studio in general and at DC in particular.  

That group may be hard to win over, but DC has to do a better job of cultivating the kind of compelling franchises that will enable them to build up the kind of passionate, engaged and excited fanbase that can drown out the haters. That takes patience, which has often been in short supply at DC where corporate overlords have long made it clear that they want their own in-house rival to the MCU, but have failed to understand the kind of blood, sweat and tears it can take to build that kind of juggernaut.  

Source: Variety

Tyger wrote:He only appears as Batman in one scene in Justice League that I remember, the fight against resurrected Superman. All the others are at night, even if it’s in the light but that’s common for Batman with the League. He’s still not much more than a myth/legend in BvS.

Pour one out for Jason Momoa‘s hair, but make sure you use a reusable cup.

The “Aquaman” star shaved his head Monday on Instagram to spread the message about cutting single-use plastics “out of our lives and out of our seas.”

“Shaving off the hair ... doing it for single-use plastics,” Momoa said as he showed off chunks of his freshly cut locks. “I’m tired of these plastic bottles, we gotta stop. Plastic forks and all that s—. It just goes into our land, it goes into our ocean.”

The 43-year-old actor noted he was in his home state of Hawaii and was disappointed at the environmental health of the island.

“I’m here in Hawaii right now, just seeing the things in our ocean, it’s just so sad. So please anything you can do to eliminate some of these plastics in your life, help me, help me.”

“Heres to new beginnings let’s spread the aloha,” he captioned the video. “be better at protecting our land and oceans. we need to cut single use plastics out of our lives and out of our seas. plastic bottles, plastic bags ,packaging, utensils all of it. let’s aloha our ‘āina together aloha.”

This isn’t the first time Momoa has called attention to an environmental cause by way of hair removal.

In 2019, the “Game of Thrones” actor shaved his equally famous beard to raise awareness that “plastics are killing our planet.”

In a video posted to his YouTube channel, Momoa advocated for using aluminum cans instead of plastic bottles.

“About 75% of all aluminum that’s ever been used is still in circulation today and it’s 100% recyclable,” he said in the three-year-old clip. “So you drink the [aluminum] can and in about 60 days, it’ll be back.”

The video was used to help promote his aluminum water bottle company Mananalu.

Momoa’s decision to shave his locks comes nearly two months after he collided with a motorcyclist near Los Angeles. The actor was unharmed in the July crash and the motorcyclist walked away with only minor injuries.

Earlier this year, the “Dune” star was in the news as he and his partner Lisa Bonet broke up after 17 years together.

“We have all felt the squeeze and changes of these transformational times… A revolution is unfolding ~and our family is of no exception… feeling and growing from the seismic shifts occurring,” Momoa and Bonet wrote in a since-deleted, joint Instagram post.

“We share this not because we think it’s newsworthy — But so that —as we go about our lives we may do so with dignity and honesty,” Momoa continued. “The love between us carries on, evolving in ways it wishes to be known and lived. We free each other — to be who we are learning to become… Our devotion unwavering to this sacred life & our Children.”

joey con carne wrote:He's actually shaving his head because he's pissed Amber Heard's screentime was not as much as he and Amber hoped. It's a protest.

DC execs are pissed especially because they aren't even done with reshoots.

joey con carne wrote:If they can take away Henry Cavill's mustache, they can just as easily give Aquaman long hair but it might look retarded just like Cavill did.

Rusty wrote:Fuck I love celebrities. "Don't buy water in single-use plastic water bottles, instead buy them in my single-use aluminium bottles."

Or how about just re-use plastic bottles. Useless bastards. One bottle will last me 3 months of refills easy before it gets too damaged.