Following its merger with Discovery, Warner Bros. removed dozens of movies and shows from its streaming platform, HBO Max. Warner Bros CEO David Zaslav has also made major changes regarding content production at the studio. Now, months after canceling all those shows and movies, the studio chief has shared the reason for the huge step. He said that the studio always has all the shows and movies, which can be called beneficial or helpful.
Zaslav believes the studio made the right decision in scrapping these projects. Warner Bros. merged with Discovery in April 2022. Following the merger, the studio decided to stop developing new scripted shows on TNT and TBS. The decision was aimed at reducing the studio’s production costs.
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David Zaslav defends canceled shows and movies
As part of its new plans, Warner Bros. Studios has canceled several shows and movies. The studio also canceled the release of Scoob! Holiday destination and bat girl. There were movies that were almost done when they were cancelled.
In a new report from Deadline, Zaslav spoke about the studios’ decision following its merger. He said the studio did not remove any shows or movies that would have been useful to them. “All of these write-offs…we haven’t taken a single show off a platform that’s going to help us in any way,” he said.
David Zaslav claimed that the real reason all of these shows and movies were taken down was their quality and not the tax deductions. The Warner Bros president also shared his future plans for the studio and said the studio will continue to focus on quality content.
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David Zaslav thinks the golden age of content isn’t over
David Zaslav believes that the golden age of content is not over yet. According to a report by Deadline, the media manager said the “the golden age of content is definitely not over”. He also revealed the studio’s plans to increase its savings target to $3.5 billion, up $500 million from its original goal.
The studio has cut costs across the business by scrapping movies like bat girl film with a number of high-profile series. It included shows like JJ Abrams’ HBO drama series Demimondewhich is said to have a budget of around $200 million, as well as series such as Le Grand D, Chad, and others from the Turner Networks side.
Sharing his thoughts saying, “I was recently asked if I thought the golden age of content was over. I said absolutely not. There is nothing more important than content, people are consuming more content than they have ever had. But it has to be great content. It’s not about how much anymore.
He also said, “The great experiment of creating something at any cost is over.”
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James Gunn and Peter Safran recently joined the studio as CEO and Co-Chairman respectively. The duo will focus on future DC projects. Studio head David Zaslav shared that he was looking forward to bolstering verticals like DC Studio and said they hadn’t worked on a Superman movie for a long time.
The Warner Bros chief also said that they will focus on releasing the films in theaters as they do significantly better than those released on the streaming platform. Zaslav also mentioned earlier that the studio will have a theatrical release, instead of releasing them directly on the streaming platform, for most of his future movies.
Source: Screenrant
