David Zaslav got on the phone with Wall Street this morning, hours after reporting a $96 million quarter for the entire Warner Bros. studio, and delivered his verdict on DC: everything is great.
James Gunn, the CEO said, is focused on Man of Tomorrow, with new footage that “looked amazing.”
Catch up on everything confirmed so far in our complete Man of Tomorrow breakdown.
Zaslav even noted Gunn spent his birthday on set, putting in “16, 18 hours a day.”
If that brand of executive enthusiasm sounds familiar, it should.
This is the same Zaslav who told analysts in 2023 that The Flash was “a wow” months before it became one of the biggest superhero bombs ever. Even Deadline couldn’t resist bringing up the receipts.
No Strategy Shift — Because There’s Nothing Left To Shift
Asked whether the Supergirl disaster would change DC’s strategy, Zaslav said no.
And technically, he’s right, just not for the reason he wants you to think.
Look at the actual slate. After Man of Tomorrow, there is nothing. Not a single DC movie is announced, dated, or shooting beyond it.
Clayface and Lanterns don’t count as both were locked in ages ago, with Clayface already finished and its trailer out.
The Jimmy Olsen spinoff still hasn’t been greenlit. And a few DC animated movies aren’t going to move any needles.
So there is no strategy shift coming because there is no strategy left to shift.
As CBN has reported, the merger contract froze DC in place: while the Paramount deal is pending, Warner Bros. can’t make big new long-term franchise commitments on its own, and David Ellison already holds veto power over DC’s future before he even owns it.
It is also why there is no Justice League until Ellison says so.
Zaslav couldn’t announce a course correction this morning even if he wanted to. The course is locked until a judge, a settlement, or a breakup fee decides who is actually steering.
And the field just narrowed again: the UK cleared the merger Thursday, the 66th government worldwide to say yes — leaving the twelve states as the last holdouts.
The Other Batman Isn’t Coming Either
Zaslav also name-checked the other side of the Bat-equation, saying he recently spoke with Matt Reeves, who is working hard on The Batman Part II.
Working hard toward February 2028, that is, as the sequel just got pushed even further out.
Zaslav told analysts DC has a “robust pipeline.” The pipeline is one movie.
And that one movie is filling up with cameo contracts, the only paper Paramount never sees.
Gunn seems to know it, too. He spent his birthday soundtracking his set photo with a song called “It’s Not The End Of The World,” and Zaslav just spent the morning telling Wall Street the same thing.
Whether anyone believes it now comes down to Man of Tomorrow.
