Yesterday’s DC mayhem over the unplugging of Patty Jenkins’ version of Wonder Woman 3, coupled with rampant rumors about the studio’s new co-heads James Gunn and Peter Safran, left the comics label on its head without a Henry Cavill Man of Steel 2 and possible re-casts Casting many of today’s major superhero roles has left the town with a bad case of PTSD.
The studio’s lack of communication with talent reps and content creators about the next steps in the DC empire, as outlined by Gunn and Safran, has drawn grim reviews for former WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar, who surprised and angered Hollywood with his popcorn theater project Day-and-date plan and even Disney CEO Bob Chapek’s war with Scarlett Johansson over Black Widow.
“It’s causing uproar,” says a content creator associated with DC Fare about the level of silence they’ve received about the fate of their DC projects going forward, “and it’s a horrible visual. This business is built on relationships.”
When it comes to the rumors that DC superheroes Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman), Jason Momoa (Aquaman) and Henry Cavill (Superman) could be cast as the leads as the Gunn-Safran administration comes up with a synergistic plan for the brand DC creates all the media, our source says, “These franchises that are already making a lot of money, why stop them? How can a studio with so much debt afford to start from scratch? Scripts and actor schedules need to be worked out.”
These three actors, including Black Adam’s Dwayne Johnson, are represented by WME, and full Warners sales of DC stars would put them under the scrutiny of a major agency. No one is preparing to go to war with Johansson ala CAA/Disney. Although everyone is playing nicely these days, a concern lurks. On the other hand, we hear that WME-represented Flash director Andy Muschietti and Indiana Jones director James Mangold are excited to do business with the Gunn-Safran-led studio.
Gunn tried to calm the excitement in a multi-Twitter post today, in which he acknowledges “the troubled environment” he and Safran are getting into and that “there would be an inevitable transitional period as we moved into it, a cohesive one.” Story about film, television, animation, and games.”
While it’s an understatement to say that change never comes easy, Gunn and Safran’s arrival in DC is akin to a studio being taken over by a big boss or a team being taken over by a football coach. They will bring their own vision and, most likely, history will be rewritten. Give the guys some credit: they’re setting out to make a more cohesive franchise like Marvel.
“We know we’re not going to make every single person happy every step of the way, but we can promise that everything we do will be in the service of the STORY and in the service of the DC CHARACTERS that we know we will.” They cherish them and we have cherished our entire lives,” the Guardians of the Galaxy and Suicide Squad franchise filmmaker added in his tweet.
Now, Gunn and Safran don’t want a Kilar situation regarding talent relationships and hope to update reps on their DC plans before the holidays, shortly after sitting down with Warner Discovery CEO David Zaslav.
There’s a lot of hot air out there, so here’s what’s known at this point:
Patty Jenkins, left, with Gal Gadot on the set of “Wonder Woman” Warner Bros.
wonder woman 3 According to those in the know, it was Patty Jenkins who walked away after receiving notes about the treatment that she submitted to the studio. Apparently, her threequel pitch had character arc issues that rivaled those of Wonder Woman 1984, which despite being the worst at the box office from closed theaters in NYC and LA during Covid and a studio HBO Max day-and- Date plan, critics slammed 58% Rotten and no rave with fans with a B+ cinemascore, despite the first getting an A However, like Jenkins, we hear that Warner Bros. Motion Picture bosses Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy, had concerns about the treatment before Safran and Gunn got involved. The group provided notes. Jenkins fought back, defending her vision that the Threequel’s character arcs were solid. Jenkins was given an opportunity for another pass but decided to go for a walk. While the visuals of Wonder Woman 3 not progressing after Batgirl’s assassination is poor visuals for the studio, it was never anyone’s intention to be sexist. There is hope for another Wonder Woman. The question is if Gadot wants to do it without Jenkins, and judging by the actress’ tweet two days before the explosive DC news, it sounds like the actress wants to stay on board. Combined, the Wonder Woman films grossed $992.4 million, the first female box office to blow up the DC Universe. Why wouldn’t the current DC administration want to do more Wonder Woman?
Warner Bros.
Man of Steel 2 and the whole Henry Cavill of it. Before Gunn and Safran even arrived, it was De Luca and Abdy’s decision with Johnson to put Cavill’s Superman at the end of Black Adam to give the dark film an uplifting, thrilling cliffhanger. No regrets there. Cavill will be managed by Dany Garcia, who is also deputizing for former spouse Johnson. Cavill’s team had been lobbying for some time for the actor to return as the Man of Steel, a role he took on in the Zack Synder-directed version in 2013 ($668 million WW) and in 2016’s Batman v Superman ($873 million ) continued WW) and Justice League 2017 ($657.9 million). I hear Cavill took it upon himself to announce his return as the Man of Steel on Instagram on October 24th, a day before Safran and Gunn were named heads of DC. De Luca and Abdy heard a pitch from Man of Steel producer Charles Roven and a writer prior to the duo’s arrival. They didn’t like it and wanted to wait for Safran and Gunn’s plan to go into effect. As such, Man of Steel 2 was never greenlit, had no director, nor was it packaged. Capisce? Man of Steel 2 remains an open slot until the studio hears a better pitch.
During the Thanksgiving holiday, Johnson revealed in a video post that he “fought hard” with Warners to bring Cavill back. Johnson said Warners “inexplicably and inexcusably” didn’t want to bring Cavill back, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer and his team went to work.
“This has been years of preparation to bring Henry Cavill back and years of strategic talks, and we didn’t want to take no for an answer,” Johnson said. “There was no way, there is no viable logical way anyone could attempt to build the DC Universe without having the greatest force and greatest superhero of all time sitting on the sidelines. That’s impossible.”
Ezra Miller as The Flash Everett
But wait, what about the Flash ending with Cavill? Yes Cavill shot it, there is something with Clark Kent with additional cameos from Supergirl, Aquaman, Wonder Woman in the film. However, the studio is currently sitting on those options pending consultation with Safran and Gunn. It remains to be seen whether the duo will want to do another Ezra Miller-led Flash, and if they do another Flash, how they will do it. Miller has been ablaze in the tabloids for a series of clashes throughout the year, the actor is currently fighting a liquor theft charge in Vermont. The actor publicly apologized for his actions.
Dwayne Johnson as Black Adam Warner Bros./Courtesy Everett Collection
And Black Adam 2? There has been silence from Warner Bros. to the picture’s team on whether there will be a sequel to the Johnson-led franchise. However, Warner Brass and Johnson are elated that the picture will gross over $50 million, despite false media reports. Warners would be keen to keep an asset like Johnson with half a billion social media followers in the herd, as the People’s Champion has directed several hit films with New Line, including San Andreas, Rampage and Journey to the Center of the Earth .
Will there be a full reboot of DC’s core stars? A studio insider tells us, “At no point were there any preconceived notions not to continue with these actors. It all boils down to how The Flash (June 16) and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (Dec. 25) perform at the box office.” Not to mention that the studio doesn’t want Gadot to lose Wonder Woman’s belt hangs.
And Jason Momoa as Lobo? This is just fan speculation at the time considering how the actor looks like the anti-hero. Momoa and Gunn are friends considering the former had a cameo as Aquaman in the latter’s Suicide Squad spinoff HBO Max series The Peacemaker.