Credit: Warner Bros.Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. is a global entertainment powerhouse known for producing and distributing films, television shows, and music content under Warner Media LLC (formerly Time Warner).
Founded in 1923, it has evolved into one of the world’s leading and most profitable media companies, celebrated for owning the rights to iconic franchises like J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter, the DC Universe (DCU), Steven Spielberg’s Jaws and E.T., and JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.
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In addition to its contributions to film and television, Warner Bros. (now part of Warner Media) oversees the popular streaming platform Max (formerly HBO Max). Warner Bros. also showcases its intellectual properties at Universal Studios theme parks worldwide.
The Warner Bros. Discovery Merger, and What That Means for IPs
After the Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) merger, the studio underwent significant restructuring, which resulted in the departure of key executives like Walter Hamada, the former head of WB’s DC film division.
Multiple WBD films and television shows were also scrapped indefinitely for tax purposes, with the company’s direction skewed towards maximizing profits — something that resulted in numerous fan boycotts, CEO David Zaslav being suspected of insider trading, and pushback from the public for destroying prized historical film artifacts.
James Gunn, known for directing the Guardians of the Galaxy series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and The Suicide Squad (2021) (distinct from 2016’s Suicide Squad starring Jared Leto as the Joker), has now taken over Hamada’s role, alongside co-CEO Peter Safran. In the new phase of the DC Universe (DCU), titled “Chapter One – Gods and Monsters,” James Gunn and his newly established DC Studios are poised to reboot this former DC Extended Universe (DCEU) for a fresh start.
The previous iteration of the DC Film Universe, known as the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), prominently featured Zack Snyder’s Justice League. This version, familiar to audiences throughout the 2010s, introduced fans to Henry Cavill as Superman/Clark Kent, Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman/Diana Prince, Ezra Miller as The Flash/Barry Allen, Jason Momoa as Aquaman/Arthur Curry, and Ray Fisher as Cyborg/Victor Stone.
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The cornerstone of this en masse DC Universe reboot will be the upcoming film Superman (formerly Superman: Legacy), with David Corenswet taking on the role of Clark Kent/Superman and replacing Henry Cavill in a totally new story. Inspired by the DC Comics series of the same name, this film is intended to reset the continuity of Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel and Justice League, collectively referred to as the “Snyderverse.”
However, not everything is on the up-and-up for the company, as CEO Zaslav admits.
What Will WB Do Next With All the Unused IPs?
Zaslav believes that when fans of franchises like Harry Potter were allowed to feel like they had actually entered the world of intellectual property, that was when IP was operating at its maximum potential.
It was during the recent Warner Bros. Discovery Q2 earnings call (via IGN) that current CEO David Zaslav and the President of Global Streaming and Games, JB Perrette, were frank when responding to a question about the “strategic value” of games using Warner Bros. intellectual property, considering WBD’s recent “uneven performance” with flops like “Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League” in comparison to the money-printing success of “Hogwarts Legacy.”
Referencing the success of “Hogwarts Legacy” from last year, CEO Zaslav opened up about the “strategic advantages of owning all our IP,” — indicating that “as the world has changed,” instead of “you launch a movie, or you launch a TV series, then you do a game,” it was, in fact, the ability to craft large, AAA immersive worlds that made “Hogwarts Legacy” “so successful and the number one game last year.”
And the game plan now is to maximize that IP potential, by potentially looking outside the WBD sphere.
Continuing, Zaslav also states that this is the trajectory he believes the industry to be heading:
That ultimately I think is a big piece of where this industry is going. That we’ll create a movie, whether it’s Batman or Superman or Harry Potter, and maybe there’ll be a TV show, but the ability to go in that world and have that experience of spending time with all the characters is something that we still own.
Referring to the WBD-owned gaming studios, Zaslav also indicates that they simply have too much IP to be able to handle it all internally — in fact, he shares that there has been “a lot of interest” in “others coming to take advantage of that IP”, particularly in the realm of gaming:
We have 11 studios here, and we have a lot of IP. And there’s also a lot of interest among others in coming to take advantage of some of that IP for gaming, which we’re looking at. Because as JB said, we need to get bigger, and the IP that we own and the value that it has in the gaming space is something we’re looking to take advantage of.
One example of Warner Bros.’ other successful movie-to-game franchises is the “Batman: Arkham” series, a critically acclaimed video game franchise that revolutionized superhero gaming with its deep storytelling, immersive world, and innovative combat mechanics in the 2000s and 2010s.
Drawing directly from the DC Comics and set in its own world, the series began with “Batman: Arkham Asylum” (2009) developed by Rocksteady Studios, where players navigate the infamous asylum, facing off against iconic villains like the Joker. It was followed by “Batman: Arkham City” (2011), expanding the setting to a sprawling section of Gotham, and “Batman: Arkham Knight” (2015), which brought the trilogy to a close with a more open-world experience and the introduction of the Batmobile.
These Batman games are renowned for their dark, atmospheric depiction of Gotham, engaging detective gameplay, and storyline that captures the essence of Batman’s world throughout film, television and the DC comic book universe, making it one of the most beloved superhero franchises in gaming history.
But it’s no secret that the more recent Warner Bros. Games-developed “Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League” and its mixed reception might have been the nail in the coffin for the “Batman: Arkham” series in the eyes of Warner Bros. Discovery.
If Zaslav is open to outsourcing the production of (more than likely) free-to-play mobile games and quick, easy revenue sources alongside more immersive, Triple-A games, it’s possible that WBD might decide to do something similar in the realm of television or animation.
Could we see more non-Warner Bros.-produced works across the entertainment spectrum? Perhaps we ought to expect an even more expansive Warner Bros. portfolio in the future, with lesser-utilized IP rights licensed to other companies, branching out into entirely new ventures. Only time will tell.
Do you think Warner Bros. might sell the licenses for these IPs to other companies? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
More on Harry Potter
The Harry Potter series, which includes Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (or Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007), Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010), and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011), chronicles the adventures of Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) in the hidden Wizarding World and at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Throughout the series, he uncovers the mystery and fate tied to the cursed lightning bolt scar on his forehead, left by the dark wizard Lord Voldemort (Tom Riddle/Ralph Fiennes).
Additional installments in the Harry Potter franchise include the upcoming Hogwarts Legacy video game, the stage play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which is performed on Broadway in New York and in London’s West End, the Fantastic Beasts film series featuring a host of magical creatures and wizards, and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, a themed land within the Universal Studios international theme parks.