The merger of Warner Bros. and Discovery continues, with speculation mounting about the fate of HBO Max and its original content. While DC Universe’s Batman spin-off The Penguin and Suicide Squad Peacemaker seems safe (for now, at least, according to James Gunn’s “calm” tweet and Colin Farrell’s recent Penguin excitement), we can’t help but be a little worried about some of our other favorites—not to mention some projects in development across the various franchises under the Warner Bros. banner. Will they make the cut?
On today’s earnings call, Warner Bros. chairman and CEO Discovery’s David Zaslav reaffirmed his position to “embrace the theatrical.” The surprise cancellation of the near-complete Batgirl movie appears to be a casualty of what he called “aggressive steps to course-correct the previous strategy,” and during a Q&A session he gave a little more insight into why Batgirl and other direct-to-consumer movies (DTC) didn’t make the cut. “We have a team that will put together a 10-year plan for DC. Expensive DTC movies don’t compare to when you get a movie in theaters. We reset. The goal is to grow the DC brand and characters and protect them.” Zaslav likened the studio’s strategy for tackling the DC franchises to how Alan Horn, Bob Iger and Kevin Feige built the Marvel Cinematic Universe — in terms of design, at least, but not necessarily the same approach as narration.
Here are some titles whose fate we may not know until the end of the year and 2023, when HBO Max and Discovery+ merge into one service. What we want to know is: if worst comes to worst, which one would you want to save? This list is by no means every genre series or HBO Max movie either rumored or confirmed to be in the works — though it honestly doesn’t look good for that Supergirl movie — so if there’s one not listed that you’ve been dying to see, let us know know this too.
Our flag means death
Harley Quinn
Green Lantern series
Suicide Squad spin-off centering on Amanda Waller
Doom Patrol
Titans
Looney Tunes Cartoons
Tiny Toons Looniversity
Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai
Dune: The Sisterhood
Jellystone!
Young Justice
Tooned Out
Clone High
Velma
You brought me the ocean
Batman: Caped Crusader
My Adventures With Superman
Happy Little Batman
The Day the Earth Blowed Up: A Looney Tunes Film
Bye, Bye Bunny: A Looney Tunes Musical
The Amazing World of Gumball: The Movie!
Want more io9 news? See when to expect the latest Marvel and Star Wars releases, what’s next for the DC Universe in film and TV, and everything you need to know about House of the Dragon and Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
