“We’re not going to release any movie before it’s ready. We’re not going to release a movie to make a quarter, we’re not going to release a movie — the focus is going to be, how do we do each of these movies, in general, as long as the best possible. But DC is something we think we could do better, and we’re focusing on that right now,” Zaslav said during today’s quarterly call. Zaslav says it’s part of a “10-year plan” for DC, in which Warner Bros. Discovery hopes to create a structure similar to the one “assembled very effectively by Kevin Feige at Disney.” Every DC movie and series is affected by the Warner Bros. Discovery merger “We believe we could build a long-term, much stronger sustainable business outside of DC. And as part of that, we’re going to focus on quality,” Zaslav said, referring to reports that Batgirl was dropped because test audiences reacted poorly to the film, if and other sources said it was primarily a move to recoup some of the money spent on the film through taxes. As for why Batgirl wasn’t brought directly to HBO Max, Zaslav said that Warner Bros. Discovery “looked closely at the direct-to-streaming business,” but “there’s no comparison to what happens when you start a movie in theaters.” “This idea of expensive movies going straight to streaming: we can’t find a financial case. We can’t find a financial value for it. So we’re making a strategic change…Our focus will be on the theatrical,” Zaslav he said. The cancellation of Batgirl earlier this week marked a seismic shift at Warner Bros., sparking intense speculation about the company’s intentions for HBO Max and beyond, with reports suggesting Supergirl may be in trouble as well. Meanwhile, Batgirl star Leslie Grace thanked fans on Instagram, saying: “Thank you for the love and faith, allowing me to take up the cape and be, as Babs said best, ‘my my goddamn hero.” Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN as well as the co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Do you have a tip? DM her at @the_katbot.
