Is there a Secret Slate of DC Movies? Does James Gunn Have a “Plan A”?

Warner Bros Discovery’s strategy with both DC and Harry Potter is to soft reboot the franchises in order to make them seem more viable and healthy. However, rebooting them with projects that are highly interconnected and/or episodic in chronological consistency is NOT desired at this time. The reason might surprise you. WBD allegedly expects to be purchased in the next 3-5 years. Therefore, it is not in WBD’s interest to craft huge franchise worlds like seen in the MCU because such a thing would make a potential buyer beholden to this new roadmap / story narrative. Instead, WBD allegedly feels the more lucrative option is to rejuvenate the franchises with non-connected properties (while still unloading bad inventory) so that when a company like Apple or Amazon (the leading contenders), they get the benefits of a refreshed franchise PLUS the ability to craft their new cinematic universe in whatever way they choose. On top of that, having James Gunn sitting on top of DC is seen as a lure for those companies to offer more. Apple / Amazon / Universal would get reinvigorated franchises with a mostly clean slate and a proven superhero director ready to rock. Furthermore, Gunn may have been brought into the fold with this as the plan all along — have fun with scrappy passion projects in the short-term, then go crazy with HUGE movies once an Apple or Amazon budget comes spraying cash everywhere. According to these sources at WBD, the later projects in this recent phase 1 reveal of DC may not even happen. And that might be intentional.

Another tidbit of info… while you might think Apple and/or Amazon are the only ones interested in buying WBD, Universal is attempting a play. They have a relationship with the Potter people and they want to leverage it in an attempt. WBD still wants someone at the top of a Wizarding Division, so it will be interesting to see where that person comes from.