DC Getting Taken Over By JJ Abrams?

Regarding DC projects, JJ Abrams recently released Batman: Caped Crusader on Amazon, a series which notably came to us from Batman: The Animated Series creator Bruce Timm. Because of the previous agreement between Bad Robot and Warner Bros., many fans assumed this new Batman show would be released on Max. However, the fact that it wasn’t has everything to do with the merger between Warner Bros. and Discovery in April 2022.

Previously, Warner Bros. had given the green-light for this DC cartoon to JJ Abrams’ Bad Robot, but after the merger with Discovery, the new executive leadership took a closer look at various upcoming projects. This scrutiny led to some very controversial decisions, including shelving an already complete Batgirl movie for nothing more than a tax write-off. And while fans at least got to see Caped Crusader, the new leadership passed on streaming it on Max, which is why it is currently making waves for rival streamer Prime Video.

Bad Robot previously signed a five-year movie and TV deal back in September 2019, but the merger with Discovery led to some friction with Abrams. Specifically, his Demimonde HBO project was killed, as was Overlook, a prequel TV series set in the universe of Stephen King’s The Shining. Now, Bad Robot is finalizing a new deal with Warner-Discovery, but it is likely to be less lucrative (perhaps far less) than the previous $250 million deal.

DC fans in particular have a lot riding on this deal with JJ Abrams’ company getting finalized. The recent Caped Crusader was excellent, and Bad Robot is still developing both a sequel to Constantine and an Elseworlds film centered around Superman. There’s always a chance that these films could be as bad as Abrams’ Star Wars film The Rise of Skywalker, but if they manage to stick the landing, each could become a tentpole superhero film for a studio that has been struggling to follow in Marvel’s successful footsteps.

Of course, there are cynical DC fans who don’t have as much faith in JJ Abrams for many reasons, including his spotty recent directorial track record and his “mystery box” style of storytelling. However, we felt like Caped Crusader was one of the best, freshest takes on the DC universe in years, and we can only hope to get more shows and films from Bad Robot of this caliber. A successful negotiation with Warner-Discovery may mean a golden age of DC content, and after years of enduring the awful DCEU, we’re ready for something better.

In fact, “hope” is our word of the day … as DC fans, we have high hopes for this JJ Abrams deal just as we have high hopes for James Gunn’s DCU. Most of the DCEU was cringe, but now that Marvel is on the back foot, this is the perfect time for a string of successful movies and TV shows featuring characters like Batman and Superman. With Warner-Discovery’s current leadership, though, the only question is how many of Gunn and Abrams’ most exciting ideas will ever see the light of day.

Source: Deadline