Everything Cancelled Since the Warner Bros Discovery Merger

In April of 2022, WarnerMedia and Discovery, Inc. completed a merger into a single consolidated company. This new company is called Warner Bros Discovery (WBD). 

Ever since David Zaslav took the reins of the newly combined company, he has gone through WBD’s various assets with a fine-tooth comb, looking for every cost-cutting measure he can find. Along the way, they have cancelled a huge assortment of shows and movies.

Here is a list of (almost) everything that Warner Bros Discovery has cancelled so far.

Editor's note: This article was updated on September 2, 2022.

Contents

• DC Comics
• HBO Max Originals
• The CW
• CNN+ and CNN
• TBS & TNT

DC Comics

If any company is poised to take on Disney’s Marvel Studios, it’s Warner Bros. As the owners of DC Comics, they have the exclusive rights to iconic characters like Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman. 

The company has continued to struggle with its approach to DC, however. While films like The Batman and Joker are still massive hits, the larger DC Universe is disjointed at best. 

Zaslav has promised to reboot DC films and create a ten year plan, similar to Marvel. It’s perhaps no surprise then, that a number of DC projects have been put on the chopping block. 

Cancelled DC Projects

• Batgirl: This $90 million production was almost finished and had even begun test screenings. While the tests weren’t a smashing success, the audience scores were tied with Black Adam, a film that’s still on the release schedule. Cancelling a film that's almost finished is an almost unheard of move that sent shockwaves through Hollywood.
• Wonder Twins: A somewhat more obscure set of characters were set to be the focus of this project. KJ App and Isabel May had been cast and the movie had a reported $75 million budget before it was scrapped.
• Strange Adventures: Announced in 2019 as an HBO Max series with Greg Berlanti as the head of the series. Little else was known about this show, but it looks like it's not longer getting made.
• Green Lantern (TV Series): This HBO Max series had been buzzed about since the early days of the streaming service. According to the website Giant Freakin Robot, the show is done for. 
• Young Justice: TV Line has reported that there are “no plans” for a fifth season of the beloved animated show. 
• Batwoman– After three seasons and some rocky drama behind-the-scenes, Batwoman will not be returning for a fourth season.
• The Flash– The upcoming ninth season of the popular show, with an abbreviated 13 episodes, will be its last.
• DC's Legends of Tomorrow– While not as popular as some of the other shows in The CW’s Arrowverse, Legends continued for a respectable seven seasons. This spring, it was announced that the season finale on March 2nd would be the show’s last.
• Aquaman: King of Atlantis: This quirky animated miniseries was an HBO Max exclusive. Not only will there be no more episodes, but the existing ones from have been moved from the streaming service. 
• Naomi: This superhero drama from Ava Duvernay was cancelled after one season on The CW in May 2022.
• Batman: Caped Crusader: This project is not going forward at HBO Max, although it is being shopped to other outlets.
• Merry Little Batman: This animated film is not moving forward at HBO Max. 

Future DC Projects That Are Still Happening (For Now!)

• The Sandman and Sweet Tooth (series): We have Netflix to thank for these.
• Batwheels and Teen Titans Go!: At least your kids can have fun.
• Shazam! Fury of the Gods: David Zaslav has said they’ve seen the sequel to Shazam and are very excited for it, even if they think they can make it “better.” It's release date has been pushed back from December 2022 to March 2023.
• Black Adam: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is still set to star in the film that is set to release on October 21, 2022. WBD ran a test screening for the movie in June, although (like Shazam! 2 and Aquaman 2) it could still get pushed back.
• Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom: It’s been pushed back, but Jason Momoa’s second go-round as the aquatic superhero is still set for a December 2023 release. 
• My Adventures with Superman: Producer Josie Campbell confirmed the animated series is still set for a 2023 release.
• The Flash: No, really. Despite all the controversies around its star Ezra Miller, the film is still on track for a June 2023 release date. For now.
• Blue Beetle: Per The Hollywood Reporter, insiders say this movie is still set for an August 2023 release date.
• Joker: Folie á Deux: Stars Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga have signed on for the musical sequel to 2019’s Joker origin story, set to release in 2024.
• Peacemaker S2: Sources for The Hollywood Reporter claim this project from James Gunn is still “safe.”
• Pennyworth: If you didn’t realize there’s a show about Alfred’s butler that’s about to air it’s third season, you (probably) aren’t alone. The origin story no one asked for is still a go, for some reason. 
• Stargirl: The CW show which originated on the now-defunct DC Universe is still set to air it’s third season starting on August 31st. 
• The Batman 2: While technically not official, it's all but a given that this film will see a sequel green-lit.
• Wonder Woman 3: Not a lot of is known about Wonder Woman 3, but we have no reason to believe it won’t happen.
• Harley Quinn: The zany adult animated series has been renewed for a fourth season on HBO Max.

DC Projects with an Unknown Status

HBO Max

Rather than worry about paying residuals to their creatives, WBD has begun pulling shows and movies from HBO Max that were already released. 

What’s more they have laid off staff members and announced they will pull away from certain areas of low-performing content. This includes live-action family and kids shows as well as nonscripted (also known as nonfiction, reality, docuseries, etc.) shows. They are opting to leave Discovery as the production arm for the latter.

Shows and movies that have been removed from HBO Max remain available for rental or purchase digitally and on DVD/Blu-ray.

Here's what's been cancelled or removed so far. Note that this list is not all-inclusive.

HBO Max Original Movies

• An American Pickle
• Charm City Kings
• The Witches
• Superintelligence
• Locked Down
• Moonshot
• House Party reboot: Originally set to debut in July but has since been taken off the schedule with no word on a new release. Update: this is now set for a theatrical release, along with Evil Dead Rise.
• Scoob!: Holiday Haunt: Animated film with Scooby-Doo characters that was almost completed. Cancelled before it could release.
• The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie
• Bye Bye Bunny: A Looney Tunes Musical
• Did I Do That to the Holidays: A Steve Urkel Story
• The Amazing World of Gumball: The Movie

HBO Max Original Shows

HBO Original Series

• My Dinner with Herve
• Share
• Vinyl
• Camping
• Run
• Here and Now
• Mrs. Fletcher
• Demimonde

The CW

The broadcast channel The CW started as a joint venture between Warner Bros and CBS Entertainment Group. Most of the company will soon be sold to Nexstar Media Group, with WBD’s stake shrinking from 50% to just 12.5%.

WBD plans to still sell content to The CW, although Nexstar can also look elsewhere for content producers. Ahead of this sale, an assortment of shows have been cancelled.

• Riverdale: The final season will air in 2023.
• Roswell, New Mexico: On its final season. 
• In the Dark: On its final season.
• Dynasty: On its final season.
• Tom Swift
• 4400
• Charmed
• Legacies

CNN+ and CNN

April of 2022 was quite the rollercoaster for CNN, which until the merger was owned by WarnerMedia. The company spent $300 million to launch a streaming service, CNN+, that debuted on March 29th, 2022. 

The launch reportedly did not meet expectations for subscriptions or revenue. Enter David Zaslav, who became CEO of the new Warner Bros Discovery when the merger was completed on April 8th. 

By April 28th, less than a month after both taking over the consolidated company and the launch of CNN+, Zaslav shut down the streaming service for good. 

Some documentary content from CNN has since moved to Discovery+. On the flip side, CNN has cancelled the long running media-news program Reliable Sources.

TBS and TNT

WBD has indicated that they want to move away from scripted programming on their cable networks TBS and TNT. 

The following programs have been cancelled:

On TBS

• Chad: The completed second season was cancelled just hours before it was set to premiere.
• Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
• Final Space
• Kill the Orange-Faced Bear: Pilot episode was filmed. Cancelled a week before the rest of the first season was set to begin production.
• The Big D

On TNT

• Animal Kingdom: Series will end on August 28th, 2022.
• Snowpiercer: Season four will conclude the show and be the final scripted production on TNT.

Final Thoughts

Which of these shows will you miss? Are you still subscribing to HBO Max? Let us know in the comment section below!