Ahead of HBO Max's launch in Europe, HBO Chairman and CEO Casey Bloys sat down with Variety to touch on a number of interesting comments but the interview took a rather interesting turn when things narrowed in on the DCU.
One of the questions asked of Bloys was to address the seemingly deliberate slower rollout of the DCU on HBO Max in direct comparison to the way that the MCU seems to always have a show in production or a Disney+ premiere just around the corner.
"That was deliberate because I do it based on the script, " said Bloys.
He continued, "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? So for me, personally, I think anytime you lay out a thing dictating in advance how many shows you’re going to have per year, it sets up an opportunity where you might compromise creatively."
"And so I think it’s always better just start every project “What do we think of what’s in front of us here?” versus, well, “If we don’t have this one, we can’t have that one.” You’ve got to start with what’s in front of you."
The DCU, under the direction of James Gunn and Peter Safran, was first announced in October 2022. Since then, it's been a slow rollout, with only Superman, Creature Commandos, and Peacemaker being released to date.
In that same timespan, the MCU has released 8 films, 11 TV series, and 2 special presentations. However, that's a bit of an unfair comparison as the DCU is just getting off the ground and the Marvel Cinematic Universe is now entering its 18th year.
For a fairer comparison, let's look at how the MCU started back in May 2008 with the first Iron Man film. In the MCU's first three years, it released 5 films and 2 One-Shots (remember those?).
While Bloys is definitely echoing Gunn's previous statements/affirmations of quality over quantity, it's still somewhat frustrating for longtime DC fans to watch such a slow trickle of output while the MCU has the faucet set to maximum output.
It also doesn't help that Gunn kicked off the DCU era by announcing a robust Gods and Monsters: Chapter 1 slate that was full of promising projects that have yet to come to fruition.
Still Lanterns is around the corner, but Waller, the show focused on Viola Davis' Amanda Waller, sounds like it's a ways off, as Bloys commented, "Put it this way, I wouldn’t say it’s on the runway."