It's A Bird, It's A Plane, It's A Superhero Movie Franchise Rebrand That Could Help This Stock

The DC Comics media segment of Warner Bros Discovery WBD continues to see major changes to power growth in the future. Here’s a look at the latest franchise overhaul and how it relates to well-known superhero Superman.

What Happened: Movie producers Peter Safran and James Gunn have announced new plans for the DC Comics brand pertaining to movies. The move follows Warner Bros. previously giving the axe to a Batgirl movie that was already in the works.

Safran announced that DC Comics is working on a Superman movie that will center on the early stages of the superhero’s life and will not feature Henry Cavill in the title role. Safran also said that the duo has been in talks with Ben Affleck to direct a future DC film, according to Deadline. 

The Superman movie will not be an origin story and will be written by Gunn with no director named.

The duo tasked with turning things around for the DC Comics movie universe are planning on sharing more from their vision in January.

The news about a new Superman movie comes after it was announced that a third Wonder Woman movie by director Patty Jenkins was turned down.

Related Link: Did Black Adam Save DC Comics, How The Rock Could Revive Warner Brothers Stock 

Why It’s Important: News of a new Superman movie and a plan for DC Comics movies to be announced next month could be good news for Warner Bros Discovery investors. The media company has faced challenges and has been working to cut costs as it puts emphasis on franchises and growing its HBO Max streaming platform.

A look at the top grossing DC Comics-related movies shows that six of the top 10 are related to the Batman franchise, with “Wonder Woman,” “Aquaman,” “Suicide Squad” and “Man of Steel” the other four movies.

The 2022 released “Black Adam” starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson grossed $167 million domestically and $389 million worldwide, ranking as the 16th biggest domestic movie in the DC Comics franchise.

Recent releases over the last three years, other than 2022’s “The Batman,” have had forgettable box office performances.

The Superman franchise with Cavill had a strong performance across standalone and Justice League-related movies. Here are the three biggest hits:

• “Man of Steel” (2013): $291 million domestically, $668 million worldwide
• “Justice League” (2017): $229 million domestically, $658 million worldwide
• “Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice” (2016): $330 million domestically, $874 million worldwide

Things have been clicking over the last few decades for the Batman franchise, with various actors playing the caped crusader and multiple variations of the franchise performing well at the box office.

The attempts at doing Justice League movies to compete with The Walt Disney Company DIS and its Avengers films came with mediocre success. The recasting of Superman and potential delays of more Wonder Woman movies could put additional Justice League movies on the back burner.

If DC Comics bosses can get the Batman and Superman franchises clicking at the same time again, the company could have a shot at boosting its movie business and could also grow streaming subs with some franchise-related shows, spinoffs or exclusive premieres.

The January plan unveiling by Gunn and Safran will be closely watched by the movie industry and should be on the radar of Warner Bros Discovery investors as well.

WBD Price Action: Warner Bros. Discovery shares are down 60% year-to-date in 2022. Shares closed Friday at $9.91 versus a 52-week range of $9.52 to $27.50.

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