Warner Bros. completed its merger with Discovery earlier this year, bringing with it a new regime under CEO David Zaslav. The newly-placed CEO is placed to deliver change across the board including the end of HBO Max and a new direction for the DC Universe, leading to the cancellation of many projects as of late.
This year alone has seen the cancelation of numerous TV shows from The CW like The Flash, Batwoman, Legends of Tomorrow, Batgirl, Wonder Twins, and Supergirl. HBO Max's Batgirl was recently at the center of the cancellation controversy after Warner Bros. decided to abandon the streaming original movie, despite having already wrapped shooting.
Now, Warner Bros. Discovery appears to have put an end to another DC HBO Max Original.
DC Cancels Another HBO Max Project
During a recent episode of his Hollywood Babble-On YouTube series, Kevin Smith confirmed DC's Strange Adventures anthology series has officially been canceled at HBO Max.
The indie film legend, who was placed to write an episode of the DC series himself, confirmed - via ScreenRant - he recently discovered "Strange Adventures is officially dead" at HBO Max:
"It feels like what was once, to me, a promising future of we are going to see a bunch of DC stuff on HBO Max; MORE DC stuff than we would see theatrically, including shit like Strange Adventures...gone! All of it is just f---king gone now. I got a call the other day from Eric before all of this story broke and he was just like "Strange Adventures is officially dead," and I was like "What the f--k, are you serious?!" I know we haven't heard from them for a while, but I guess this goes in parts with the new moves with David Zaslav. But God lord, I thought Strange Adventures being a causality kind of made sense to me. Nobody necessarily knows these characters, it sounded like an expensive show."
Smith also noted on the episode - again via ScreenRant - that Strange Adventures was "heading toward production," indicating it was far along in development:
"This was always a million-to-one shot, I couldn't believe they even asked me to do it.. and it was heading toward production, it wasn't like wish fulfillment, this was something they were going to do… This was killed definitely by the new regime."
The Hollywood icon also cast the fate of the Green Lantern series into doubt as he state he "[hasn't] heard anything" about the project and "wouldn't be surprised if that was a casualty too." Previous reports indicated plans for the HBO Max original to film later this year in California:
"I don't know this for a fact, but I also haven't heard anything about the Green Lantern series that they were supposedly doing. I wouldn't be surprised if that was a casualty too."
Both Strange Adventures and Green Lantern were originally conceived to be coming to HBO Max from ArrowVerse lead Greg Berlanti. The former was a one-hour drama anthology series featuring superheroes from across the DC canon as they intersect with the lives of ordinary people.
What Will DC's Next Victim Be?
Strange Adventures may have been one to fly under the radar of many, but the loss is still a tragic one. The series marks another loss under Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav's new regime, following the cancelations of Batgirl, Wonder Twins, and Supergirl.
The general concept of an anthology series of lesser-known heroes is an intriguing one that had great potential to expand the DCEU in a way that it desperately needs. The MCU was built from the ground based on its most unknown heroes, and it's time DC expands beyond the big names.
With regard to Green Lantern, there's a high chance the sci-fi series may be the next to fall victim to the new Warner Bros. regime. Not only are Smith's comments concerning, but Zaslav has made it clear he believes DC belongs on the big screen, so it's unlikely he will let a character with the potential of Green Lantern fall to HBO Max.
There are plenty more projects that remain at risk of cancellation at DC, some of which will prove to be tragic losses for many. Hopefully, the end goal of finally creating a cohesive DC Cinematic Universe will ultimately be worth it, but only time will tell.
Warner Bros. has recently canceled seven DC projects and all signs indicate they are far from done.
