It’s fair to say popular characters like Superman and Harry Potter haven’t had the most spotlight in recent years. Due to polarizing movies or controversial creators, we’ve seen two of pop culture’s most prominent heroes on the back burner.
It’s time for that to change however, says Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav. In the company’s latest Q3 earnings conference call on Thursday, Zaslav opened up about wanting to focus on popular franchises.
“We haven’t had a Superman movie in 13 years. We haven’t done a Harry Potter movie in 15 years. The DC movies and the Harry Potter movies provided a lot of the profits of Warner Bros. Motion Pictures over the last 25 years,” says Zaslav.
“So a focus on the franchise – one of the big advantages that we have; House of the Dragon is an example of that, Game of Thrones taking advantage of Sex and the City and Lord of the Rings, and we still have the right to do Lord of the Rings movies. What are the movies that have brands that are understood and loved everywhere in the world?”
He even says there’s potential to do ‘something’ more with Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, which definitely raised a few eyebrows.
“A focus on the big movies that are loved, that are tentpoled, that people are going to leave early from dinner to go to see – and we have a lot of them. Batman, Superman, Aquaman, if we can do something with JK on Harry Potter going forward, Lord of the Rings, what are we doing with Game of Thrones? What are we doing with a lot of the big franchises that we have? We’re focused on franchises.”
Warner Bros. Discovery is home to many significant brands with characters that many people adore. While the intent seems right with what Zaslav is saying, his recent decisions, like firing animation teams and cancelling already finished movies, have folks a bit concerned.
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WBD is entering a new era, but will David Zaslav guide them in the right direction? Only time will tell, but let us know your thoughts on our social channels @Fluicke
