DC infuriated with J.J. Abrams for doing nothing with claimed characters

Warner Bros has made a big deal with J.J. Abrams to revitalise DC movies after his work on Star Trek and Star Wars. However, the newly christened Warner Bros. Discovery is reportedly already frustrated with Abrams over lack of output.

Abrams hasn’t been resting on his laurels. The director has been working on the HBO Max seriesseries Demimonde and Batman: Caped Crusader. However, none of those projects have released, and Warner Bros. Discovery might be fed up. With two years left on the deal, it looks like Abrams has may have bitten off more than he can chew.

Abrams and DC

Not long after his deal with Warner Bros. was announced, it was revealed that Abrams would be working on the more mystical side of DC. Projects include new shows for Constantine and Madame X, which were supposed to lead to a possible Justice League Dark movie. Additionally, Abrams is also working on a Superman movie reboot with Ta-Nehisi Coates writing the film.

Fast forward to 2022 and we’ve barely heard anything from these projects outside of their official announcements. The Hollywood Reporter claims that the aforementioned Demimonde has been Abrams' main focus, costing Bad Robot $200 million, with a decision on the show coming from Warner Bros. Discovery this week. Notice the lack of Justice League Dark and Superman?

Since superheroes are still quite popular with the mainstream, it’s easy to see why Warner Bros. Discovery is annoyed at the lack of DC output from a big name like Abrams. We hope that his Demimonde project pays off because his bosses are going to be really mad if it doesn’t.

But why is Warner Bros reportedly so annoyed? Well, with Abrams' contract claiming exclusivity over characters, no one else at Warner Bros is allowed to touch them. Essentially, high value characters are simply sitting on the shelf, untouched.

Read More: Amber Heard lied about being cut from contract, claims DC Films exec

Star Trek and Speed Racer commitments

It’s worth noting that the deal J.J. Abrams and Bad Robot made with Warner Bros. Discovery didn’t prevent him from working with other companies. Due to the lack of restrictions, Abrams is confirmed to be working on a new Star Trek movie with Paramount and a live-action Speed Racer series for Apple TV.

We imagine the lack of major DC content for Warner Discovery and additional outside projects is going to ruffle some feathers with executives. There is still time to fix things since the reports point out that the current deal isn’t in danger, but the frustration could make re-signing Abrams and Bad Robot less than desirable.