Twitter and Reddit have been buzzing with the latest news regarding streaming services. According to IndieWire, six movies have been removed from HBO Max over the past few months; they were targeted for removal because they were underperforming and they could provide partial tax breaks.
The six movies — “Moonshot,” “Superintelligence,” the 2020 remake of “The Witches,” “An American Pickle,” “Locked Down,” “Charm City Kings” — were the first to leave, and several are rumored to be taken off of Discovery+ in preparation for a merge between Discovery+ and HBO Max under Warner Bros. Discovery.
“Superintelligence” — Courtesy of New Line Cinema/HBO Max/WarnerMedia Photo
Just this Tuesday, Warner Bros. Discovery pulled the plug on the new “Batgirl” movie that was set to release directly to HBO Max. Now fans that were looking forward to seeing the return of Michael Keaton as Batman will not be able to see the movie. This is not likely to be the last of the cancelled movies, and after the rumors of more movies and TV shows getting axed, uncertainty plagues employees as they speculate whether layoffs will occur with the impending merger.
The cancellation of “Batgirl” was devastating for not only fans of DC, but the film was going to bring much-needed representation to the silver screen, with Leslie Grace in the titular role as the first Latina to land a lead role in a DC movie, trans and Filipina-American actress Ivory Aquino in a supporting role, and Muslim Belgian-Moroccan filmmakers Adil El Arbi & Bilall Fallah (“Bad Boys for Life,” 2020 & two episodes of “Ms. Marvel,” 2022). El Arbi even found out about the cancellation of “Batgirl” at his own wedding.
“‘We are saddened and shocked by the news,’ the filmmakers wrote in a statement Wednesday. ‘As directors, it is critical that our work be shown to audiences, and while the film was far from finished, we wish that fans all over the world would have the opportunity to see and embrace the final film themselves. Maybe one day they will insha’Allah.’” (As written by Aaron Couch in the Hollywood Reporter).
As of August 4th, USA Today has confirmed that the merge between HBO Max and Discovery+ will roll out in summer 2023, combining as one streaming service under Warner Bros. Discovery. In the earnings call on Thursday, the CEO of HBO Max, David Zaslav, made it known that his view differs from that of the previous CEO, Jason Kilar, in that he doesn’t want to offer direct-to-streaming films on HBO Max.
Additional programs that will change include the family and kids programming, which is no longer a priority. “CFO Gunnar Weidenfels mentioned on the earnings call that they are unlikely to pursue new projects, although the company has a library of content from ‘Looney Tunes’ to ‘Animaniacs’” (USA Today).
Fortunately, August has a lineup of TV shows and movies that will surely do well on the streaming service, including “House of the Dragon” and “Belfast”, and “Game of Thrones” has been remastered and will be available in 4k. “The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug” will also be available on August 25th to tide fans over until the much-anticipated release of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.”
This story is still developing.
UPDATE 8/29/22: Among the several shows that have been canceled, there are a few that have been renewed for another season: Sex and the City spinoff And Just Like That, Emmy-award winning dramedy Hacks, the Gossip Girl revival, Julia, Sex Lives of College Girls produced by Mindy Kaling, Peacemaker, and Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin. The shows that air on HBO’s cable network are not expected to be affected by the merger, which includes Succession, The White Lotus, and Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon.
Though Batgirl has been indefinitely scrapped, Warner Bros. Discovery has secured the future of the Batman universe that Matt Reeves has created, after he signed a multi-year deal with Warner Bros. Discovery.
An Atlanta-based actress, model, writer, and screenwriter, Miranda started her career on stage in high school. She figured out that acting and writing were two passions of hers that allowed her to constructively express her emotions through character and narrative. In 2022, she packed up her cat and everything she owned to move across the US to Atlanta to further pursue opportunities in the entertainment industry. She is currently working on a novel and the screenplay adaptation for the novel, and enjoys designing graphics.
