If there’s such a thing as superhero fatigue, Warner Bros. isn’t aware of it, as the studio is literally doubling down on its DC Films banner and comic book properties. In a recent interview with The New York Times, president of DC Films Walter Hamada discussed his studio’s upcoming plans and revealed that Warner Bros. is planning to release as many as six superhero flicks per year: four blockbusters meant for theaters starting in 2022, and two additional films for HBO Max. The latter would comprise “riskier” features starring lesser-known characters, such as Batgirl and Static Shock.
“The most expensive DC movies (up to four a year, starting in 2022) are designed for release in theaters,” the Times reported. “Additional superhero films (two annually is the goal, perhaps focused on riskier characters like Batgirl and Static Shock) will arrive exclusively on HBO Max, the fledgling streaming service owned by WarnerMedia.”
Hamada also revealed that Warner Bros. is keen on developing episodic spin-offs for HBO Max, which would tie in with their theatrical counterparts and culminate in a grander cinematic universe. We got a small taste of this back in January during Arrow’s “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover, which saw the TV (Grant Gustin) and movie (Ezra Miller) versions of The Flash meeting at STAR Labs.
“With every movie that we’re looking at now, we are thinking, ‘What’s the potential Max spinoff?’” Hamada said.
“To make all the story lines work, DC Films will introduce movie audiences to a comics concept known as the multiverse: parallel worlds where different versions of the same character exist simultaneously,” the Times explained. “Coming up, for instance, Warner Bros. will have two different film sagas involving Batman — played by two different actors — running at the same time.”
Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures are exploring something similar for their third Spider-Man movie, which will reintroduce past villains such as Spider-Man 2’s Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina) and The Amazing Spider-Man 2’s Electro (Jamie Foxx). Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield are also rumored to reprise their roles for a fully fledged Spider-Verse.