Did WB/Discovery delay their DC movies to course correct?
Warner Bros and DC Films have announced that they have postponed all of their upcoming slate except Shazam! Fury of the Gods which was surprisingly preponed. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Black Adam and The Flash have been postponed so let us look into it.
DC delay all of its movies
WB has announced that Dwayne Johnson starring Black Adam is moved from July 29, 2021, to October 21, 2021. Aquaman 2: The Lost Kingdom is shifted from December 16, 2022, to March 17, 2023. And finally, The Flash gets the biggest delay going from November 4, 2022, to June 23, 2023.
So what might be the reason for DC’s delay? Is it for VFX and post-production, I hear you say – well that might be it but in this case, it doesn’t explain it completely.
Let me break it down. Zack Snyder’s Justice League had a gargantuan four hours worth of VFX and post-production done in a time frame of 6-8 months which consisted of more than 2500 shots to work on. So considering that a movie’s final cut is locked almost one to two months before the release let us see what time frame do these DC films need.
A very long and unusual extension given to DC films
Black Adam had finished its principal photography on July 16th,2021 according to Dwayne Johnson himself. So it doesn’t make sense for a period of more than 12 months to release the DC film, given that there are not many big releases after Doctor Strange 2 and Thor 4.
Aquaman 2 meanwhile had wrapped up its principal photography on January 13th,2022 according to an Instagram post from director James Wan. So even the Atlantean movie gets more than 12 months of post-production time.
Finally, The Flash had completed its principal photography on October 18th, 2021 and it gets a massive year and a half for its post-production which is quite frankly ridiculous.
So if post-production is not the reason, what might actually be the reason?
RESHOOTS
There is one plausible explanation and that is reshoots. Films need an extended period of time to undergo reshoots if the first cut has not tested well with the audience or the studio demands to change large chunks of the movie.
Discovery is taking over WarnerMedia and it is no surprise that one of the first things they will be looking to organize is the DCEU.
While solo outings not connected in the DCEU like Joker and The Batman have done well, the DCEU has been a disaster. Their last hit film was Aquaman which was released almost four years ago- that is the indication of how the audience thinks about this universe.
So it might be a necessary step by Discovery to postpone all of their DC films and make them undergo reshoots to course correct to make them more successful. With the Flash having a very shaky plot of getting rid of the Snyderverse and starting afresh, it does give a chance for Discovery to make some changes and try to bring this dying DCEU back to life.
DC’s latest The Batman is playing in theatres worldwide.
