Two upcoming HBO Max original series centered on popular DC characters are reportedly still moving forward.
In a report about the HBO Max layoffs and restructuring, Deadline noted that "high-profile DC series" The Penguin and Green Lantern are still "going forward" since they fall under the service's new focus of developing "big, largely IP-based tentpoles." The two series join James Gunn's Peacemaker, which is gearing up for filming on Season 2, and the adult animated comedy series Harley Quinn as DC projects that are reportedly safe from the HBO Max chopping block.
The live-action Green Lantern series was first announced in Oct. 2019. The upcoming series will tell a decades-spanning story that focuses on multiple Green Lanterns. Finn Wittrock was the first actor to board the series as Guy Garder/Green Lantern followed by Jeremy Irvine as Alan Scott, the original Green Lantern. The series will also include newer Green Lanterns Jessica Cruz and Simon Baz. Greg Berlanti, known for his helping create The CW's Arrowverse, will produce while Seth Grahame-Smith will serve as showrunner and co-writer with Marc Guggenheim.
The Penguin Will Expand The Batman Universe
Colin Farrell will reprise his role as Oswald Cobblepot/The Penguin from 2022's The Batman in the upcoming limited series, which will serve as a spinoff and expansion of Matt Reeves' film. While Reeves will not direct The Penguin, Farrell has revealed that the director is still heavily involved with the project. "Matt's up to his bollocks, you know, hovering over the keyboard and just planning the story because he's just so meticulous," Farrell said in an Aug. 2022 interview. "He's so obsessive about what he does, but he's all over [HBO Max's] The Penguin [series] as well. I mean, he's not gonna direct it but he's all over the structure of the scripts and who's gonna direct them. And so, it's exciting."
HBO Max has recently begun to trim its DC offerings following Warner Bros. Discovery's decision to shelve the Batgirl film. The DC anthology series Strange Adventures, which would have focused on "cautionary tales" about superheroes and supervillains, was recently canceled and reports have suggested that the upcoming fourth seasons of Titans and Doom Patrol may be their respective lasts.
WBD CEO David Zaslav recently admitted that "DC is something we can make better, and we’re focused on it now," telling both investors and fans that the company will focus on quality over quantity when it comes to future DC projects. Zaslav is also developing "a 10-year plan focusing just on DC" that will lay out a long-term roadmap for the DC Extended Universe that is similar to what Disney and Marvel Studios developed for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The Penguin and Green Lantern do not yet have release dates, but both will premiere on HBO Max.
Source: Deadline