It is looking as if all of the DC Universe streaming service original television content will be moving to its bigger corporate sibling HBO Max.
The news comes at the end of a week which saw over 800 layoffs across numerous Warner subsidiaries including DC Entertainment, home of the DC Universe service. And part of that restructuring is the moving of all of DC Universe’s original programming including live action shows like Titans and Stargirl and the animated hits Young Justice and Harley Quinn over to recently launched HBO Max.
DC Comics publisher Jim Lee explained the move in a new interview in the Hollywood Reporter.
The original content that is on DCU is migrating to HBO Max. Truthfully, that’s the best platform for that content. The amount of content you get, not just DC , but generally from WarnerMedia, is huge and it’s the best value proposition, if I’m allowed to use that marketing term. We feel that is the place for that.
In regards to the community and experience that DCU created, and all the backlist content, something like 20.000 to 25,000 different titles, and the way it connected with fans 24-7, there is always going to be a need for that. So we’re excited to transform it and we’ll have more news on what that will look like. It’s definitely not going away.
Additional details as to when the migration would happen were not forthcoming in the interview but could conceivably be announced next weekend at DC’s online DC FanDome event.
The move of the programming has been rumored and speculated on for nearly a year after it was announced last July that the DC Universe series Doom Patrol would be part of the programming available on the then-upcoming HBO Max launch. Further speculation was fueled earlier this year when it was announced that Stargirl would go out on over-the-air The CW just a day after the show would premier new episodes on DC Universe. The show performed so well for The CW that they picked up its second season exclusively.
Launched in December 2018, DC Universe was envisioned as an all-encompassing hub for DC Comics fans. It would feature numerous digital versions of comics both new and extending back through the company’s eight decade history. Additionally, it would make available for streaming nearly all of the live action and animated television and films that featured the comics publisher’s numerous characters, as well as creating new programming as well.
