When the streaming wars were first getting underway, the idea that a studio would allow its content to stream on a rival's platform was unthinkable...however, that's exactly what's happening at the moment.
In a non-April Fool's Day post, the combined Disney+ & Hulu app just posted a trailer for what's coming in April, and to the surprise of comic book fans, it seems three DCEU films were on the list- Wonder Woman, Shazam, and Shazam: Fury of the Gods.
It wasn't too long ago that the DCEU films showed up on Netflix, an idea of Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav who hinted that the films could find themselves on other streaming services after their time on Netflix ended.
Said Zaslav, "Someone might have it for three months or six months. We always have those movies and we have the complete set of all those movies.”
“And candidly, we have found that we won’t do it unless the economics are significant. But in many cases, it really helps us. People come back and then they want to see the full bouquet of DC movies and the only place to do that is with us."
Streaming on Netflix is one thing as in years past, Netflix was the streaming destination for every network and studio before they all decided to become competition instead of clients.
But no one could have predicted that the DCEU films would show up on WB's direct rival within the comic book movie genre.
This is a sign that the times are changing as investors and boards of directors are becoming frustrated with the huge overhead and upkeep costs associated with maintaining their own steaming apps as opposed to licensing shows and movies for profit.
There are a ton of rumors swirling around the Hollywood trades and finance magazines that WB Discovery could be sold soon be acquired or merge with another, midsize studio.
When Discovery acquired Warner Media from AT&T in Spring 2022, they took on a ton of debt and haven't really seen the profits they envisioned thanks to the pandemic and this past summer's WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
This month, the legal restriction that prevents Warner Bros. Discovery from merging or acquiring more studios expires and insiders expect Zaslav to entertain all options, including the sale of sub-companies (like DC Comics and DC Studios) or Warner Bros. in its entirety.