With the world still in a state of flux due to the pandemic, major movie companies are regularly having to think through their plans for how to bring their biggest movies to the world.
While studios like Disney and Warner Bros. have projects in the works that are made specifically for a streaming release, the uneasy state of movie theaters could potentially force the movies being developed for the big screen to debut on streaming, just as Wonder Woman 1984 did.
Marvel Studios will officially debut their new wave of films and TV shows in January as WandaVision premieres on Disney+, while the big screen releases like Black Widow and Eternals are firmly set to remain in theaters. DC Films is looking to follow a similar route by working on shows like Peacemaker for HBO Max alongside the new DCEU movies like James Gunn's The Suicide Squad.
News just released on more of DC's plans going forward for new movies on the horizon.
NEWS
Via a new article from the New York Times, Walter Hamada, who is the President of DC Films at Warner Bros., revealed that the studio has a goal of two more films annually focused on "riskier characters" that will release exclusively on HBO Max. The outlet specifically cites Batgirl and Static Shock as two examples of heroes that may very well end up premiering on the streamer.
WHAT THIS MEANS
This news doesn't mean for certain that the films developed for specific platforms (like theaters or HBO Max) will only release via those outlets, nor does it mean that this plan isn't subject to change as world affairs hopefully improve soon. This is simply Warner Bros. working to map out a plan for how to release their new movies currently in pre-production, especially as streaming releases become increasingly more necessary in today's industry.
It's also exciting to see that DC is diligently working on films for characters like Batgirl and Static Shock while the company's core heroes earn sequels on the big screen. Rumors began circulating in October that a Static Shock movie was in the works with MCU star Michael B. Jordan serving as the director, although no word has come on any plans for a Batgirl feature at this time.
This comes in the midst of Warner Bros. releasing their entire slate of movies in 2021 simultaneously on HBO Max and in theaters, and it will be interesting to find out if that trend continues after next year. No matter which platform these future projects end up releasing on, DC seems to have big plans going forward as the team expands on its cinematic multiverse.
This will kick off on the HBO Max streaming platform with the Snyder Cut of Justice League, and the next theatrical release will come with James Gunn's The Suicide Squad on August 6, 2021.
