Following the crashing and subsequent burning of Wonder Woman 1984's less-than-heroic dual release on HBO Max and in theaters, HBO is up to bat again with new DC Comics titles on the way.
DC Extended Universe movies will be expedited upon their delivery as Warner Brothers will release four movies theatrically and two movies as HBO Max exclusives annually, starting in 2022. DC Films president Walter Hamada looks to Batgirl and Static Shock to break ground as HBO Max's first smaller budget live-action DC originals. These two movies, though they will be exclusive to the streaming service, will serve futhermore to the DCEU and larger budget productions.
The updates on Batgirl have been few and far between after Josh Whedon withdrew from the project in February 2018, as reported by IGN. Bumblebee screenwriter Christina Hodson had then stepped in for Whedon to pen the new screeplay, but the development of the Batgirl stand-alone, which will base around Barbara Gordon as Batgirl, and will be influenced by the "New 52" comics run, has been radio silent. Actor Michael B. Jordan has signed on to produce the Static Shock movie.
Hamada also confirmed that the DCEU will not limit itself to one, singular cinematic universe, and instead, will sprawl into a multiverse where multiple itierations of multiple characters have the ability to coexist. The Batman (2022) will be exempt from this aniticpated overlap as it will not exist within the DCEU, but a universe of its own.
There is already a marriage between HBO Max and theatrical release as The Suicide Squad (2021) and The Batman are to have companion series on HBO Max. Peacemaker (2021) sinks into John Cena's brutally patriotic role in The Suicide Squad, while the Gotham PD takes to the seeds of corruption planted in Gotham during Batman's first year on the job.
“I don’t think anyone else has ever attempted this,” Hamada said to the New York Times. “But audiences are sophisticated enough to understand it. If we make good movies, they will go with it.”
Comments