Casey Bloys may have just said the quiet part out loud about James Gunn’s DCU on HBO.
In his new interview with Variety, the HBO boss made it clear DC projects are being judged script by script by him, not because they are part of some larger master plan. That makes it sound like Bloys is the one really deciding what gets greenlit on the TV side, not Gunn.
“That was deliberate because I do it based on the script,” he said in response to questioning about the slow DCU rollout on HBO compared to what Marvel did with Disney+.” More than anything else — forget about anybody, any plan or anything like that — you have to do it based script by script. Is it a good script? Do we think it’s interesting creatively? Do we think it makes sense as a show?'”
Waller Looks Stalled
That’s bad news for Waller. Asked about Viola Davis’ series, Bloys did not sound confident at all, saying only that he “wouldn’t say it’s on the runway.”
For a project announced back in Gunn’s original January 2023 DCU slate, that sounds like a show that may not be happening anytime soon, if at all.
Lanterns Still Comes With Questions
Lanterns is moving forward, but even there the signs are mixed.
Bloys said it is coming this summer, but the series has already been pushed to the end of summer and still does not have a specific release date.
Gunn also previously admitted HBO is handling the marketing and said he had “no clue” when footage would drop, which again suggests HBO is calling the shots on the television side.
Peacemaker Lost A Big Chunk Of Its Audience
Then there is Peacemaker.
Nielsen data showed the series only hit the streaming charts around its finale, and reporting on those numbers indicated roughly a 39% drop from the premiere to the finale.
That is a steep loss, and it adds to the argument that HBO may not see Gunn’s DCU shows as untouchable. There is no report directly confirming Bloys canceled anything, but the ratings drop makes that kind of outcome easier to believe.
Booster Gold canceled?
Fans also recently pointed out that the writer attached to the DCU Booster Gold series deleted all his posts related to the show.
The writer did state he thinks the show is still happening, but that doesn’t indicate confidence.
The Jimmy Olsen Series Was Never Part Of The Original Plan
What comes next also says a lot. The Jimmy Olsen series is now one of the next live-action DCU projects in development, even though it was never part of Gunn’s original DCU rollout.
Recent comments from co-showrunner Dan Perrault confirmed the show is still untitled and was only tossing around names as recently as last week, which makes the DCU TV side look even less locked in than originally sold.
The Live-Action DCU TV Slate Looks Thin
Right now, there is barely any live-action DCU television on the board.
Waller looks stalled. Lanterns is delayed and still vague. There is no word about the Themyscira series.
Peacemaker lost a big chunk of its audience. And the next project is a Jimmy Olsen spinoff tied to Gunn’s Superman corner, not a major expansion of the wider DCU. That is not exactly the strong TV universe Gunn promised.
