The new leadership at DC's parent company has been followed by a cancellation of multiple movie projects. With the Snyder-verse likely dead, Batgirl cancelled, and The Flash still uncertain, the option to continue these stories in comic book form should be on the table. The cancellation of these projects has drawn ire from across all corners of the DCEU fandom, with many asking if other projects they had been looking forward to are safe.
And while many projects appear uncertain, several have been firmly canceled following the Warner Brothers merger with Discovery. But with a strong and robust comic book division, one that many agree needs to diversify its publishing roster, there's no reason some of these projects couldn't be moved from the big screen to print. Even a number of comic book writers themselves have expressed interest in the canceled projects and dismay at their cancellation, most notably Gail Simone with Batgirl.
While projects like Joker 2 and a Batman sequel are likely safe, every other project not completed seems to be on the chopping block at Warner Bros/Discovery under the new management of David Zaslav. Moves like this are common when new management takes over a media corporation, due to financial reasons. However, the cancellation has disappointed countless fans all the same, who had been eagerly anticipating the arrival of Batgirl or Blue Beetle to the DCEU. But with the ability to produce comics at a fraction of the cost of a movie, DC Comics could easily take over these stories, and it wouldn't be the first time the comics used movies to their advantage.
Currently, DC Comics is producing a limited line of one-shots to tie in with the upcoming Black Adam movie. The one-shots provide a lead-up prequel series, introducing readers to the DCEU version of the JSA. While the first movie tie-in one-shot landed in the top 100 comics of July 2022, the Black Adam limited series made in conjunction with the film and written by Christopher Priest, landed in the top 50. The creation of a longer-term project with more investment, that ties in with the movie universe would be unchartered territory for comics. But using the association with the movies as well as real marketing, these projects could be a hit.
Typically, movie tie-in comics last no longer than a few issues. However, until Black Adam, movie tie-ins would typically be ignored and released with little fanfare. Even at the height of Green Lantern hype, the movie prequel comics were released to incredibly low sales, even as the main book sold among DC's best-performing titles. However, now seems like the ideal time to bring fans the stories they otherwise may never see. Due to the past directors and screenwriters leaving outlines and even whole scripts, the stories should be easily adaptable to comics.
Unfortunately, comics have typically struggled to figure out where these movie comics should fit in with their publishing schedule, and the difference between the movie and a comic often makes the latter feel redundant to fans. However, this could be the first time a live-action superhero franchise was continued as a comic. Now that so many DCEU fans feeling dissatisfied by the WBD cancellations, an opportunity to see the stories they have lost play out in a comic book might serve not only to spike comic sales but as a gateway for new fans into the comic book medium.
It would be key, however, to ensure that these projects make use of some of the best talent available, whether drawing from screenwriting or comics. In fact, comics currently have some successful screenwriters on major books, such as Supernatural screenwriter Jeremy Adams and DCAU writer Tim Sheridan. The key to these comics should be bridging the gap between disaffected movie fans and the comic book industry. After all, many of these fans have decades of superhero stories available to them, they just have to be given a compelling gateway into the comic universe.
While it's still unclear exactly how many film projects will be axed under new management, DC Comics can reassure those fans that even if the movies won't be made, the stories they'd been looking forward to can live on. Perhaps comics' biggest advantage over the movies is that they can deliver on even bigger and more epic concepts at a fraction of the cost. In fact, the comics could deliver an entire saga of Zack Snyder's Justice League books and cost less than the effects budget on a single DCEU movie.
Whether DC Comics will capitalize on the sudden demand for these now canceled movie stories remains to be seen. However, with all the chatter and disappointed fans, these projects could be a chance to satisfy the movie fans while boosting sales and perhaps gaining long-term readership along the way. But real investment in such a series is pivotal.