HBO Chairman Talks Cancelled DC Shows
HBO Chairman and CEO Casey Bloys has discussed the network’s upcoming slate following the recent Emmy Awards, revealing that a list of shows based on DC Comics have now ceased development until further notice, having never even made it to greenlight status.
Other than the upcoming Superman spin-off, The People vs. Gorilla Grodd, most DCU shows listed under HBO will not make it to the silver screen. The series is set to star Skyler Gisondo, reprising his role as Jimmy Olsen from James Gunn’s 2025 film, which kickstarted a rebooted DC film universe, centred as a mockumentary series taking place in the new DCU’s Metropolis city.
Bloys has since shared why additional pitched shows in the same universe will not see the light of day.
“It’s the same thing with Game of Thrones. People read about development, and they assume that those are greenlit shows, and they’re in development,” the CEO revealed. “And everybody knows that development is just that – you’re trying things, you take big swings, not everything comes through.”
He then listed the service’s “track record in DC,” which involves titles such as “….Watchmen to Peacemaker to Penguin and now Lanterns,” with the CEO citing this run as “pretty good.”
These shows debuted in 2019, 2022, 2024 and 2026, respectively, with Penguin serving as a TV spin-off to Matt Reeves’s 2022 feature film The Batman, which exists in its own universe separate from that of Gunn’s Superman, Supergirl, and Clayface, and Peacemaker and Lanterns being the second and third series installments in the new DCU, following Creature Commandos.
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Peacemaker stars John Cena, Danielle Brooks, Freddie Stroma, Chukwudi Iwuji, Jennifer Holland, Steve Agee, and Robert Patrick. While Lanterns features Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre in the titular Lantern roles, alongside Kelly Macdonald, Garret Dillahunt, Poorna Jagannathan, Ulrich Thomsen, and Nathan Fillion.
“We’re very selective. We’re careful about what we do; nothing has changed,” Bloys added. “You’ll read about development, but focus on what we’re greenlighting.” When asked about any DC content in development, Bloys revealed there is nothing “right now.”
“Obviously you’ve got Gorilla Grodd, which I’m very happy about, doing something different, and I think it’s a really fun idea,” he added. “They just started shooting.”
HBO’s 2026 Emmy wins included Outstanding Drama Series for The Pitt and Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series for DTF St. Louis.
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