Entertainment Weekly reports that DC Studios has paused active development on the series "Waller" and "Paradise Lost." The pause does not yet mean cancellation: both projects remain in the studio's plans, but HBO has put them on the back burner.
Both series were announced in January 2023 as part of the first chapter of the new DC cinematic universe. Alongside them, "Creature Commandos," the second season of "Peacemaker," "Lanterns," and "Booster Gold" were introduced. The latter is also undergoing a change in its creative team but remains in development for now.
Viola Davis was set to return as Amanda Waller, and the story planned to feature other characters from "Peacemaker." The script was being developed by Krystal Henry and "Doom Patrol" creator Jeremy Carver.
"Paradise Lost" was supposed to tell the story of the Amazons of Themyscira before the events of "Wonder Woman." James Gunn compared the series to "Game of Thrones" and promised political intrigue on an island inhabited by women. The first reports of the project's cancellation appeared in February, but in April, the co-head of DC Studios claimed that "Paradise Lost" was in a state of "extremely active development." Now, work on the series seems to have indeed been paused.
Earlier, it became known that HBO Max rejected proposals for solo series about Poison Ivy and Catwoman. Thus, in a short time, four projects with women at the center of the story either lost priority or did not receive approval.
These reports look particularly curious against the backdrop of "Supergirl's" box office failure. Recently, DC Studios co-head Peter Safran admitted that the film did not meet financial expectations but assured that the studio would not change its chosen course:
"While 'Supergirl' did not meet our box office expectations, it is just one element of a larger, long-term DC Studios strategy that we remain confident in."
Sources do not directly link these decisions to "Supergirl's" box office. However, such a sequence may indicate increased caution from Warner Bros. and HBO when evaluating projects with women at the center of the story. The fate of the solo "Wonder Woman" film, for which "Supergirl" writer Ana Nogueira is writing the script, remains an open question.