Kevin Smith’s New DC Series Canceled By HBO Max
Kevin Smith has said that his Strange Adventures series was canceled by Warner Bros and DC in another high profile move
Another day, more bad news coming out of the Warner Bros. Discovery camp. Already plagued by the turmoil surrounding their two most anticipated DC Extended Universe films, the company merger caused more disruption to rumble through the franchise. The latest casualty of the merger is legendary director and filmmaker Kevin Smith’s Strange Adventures.
In a recent episode of the Hollywood Babble-On with Ralph Garman, Kevin Smith talked about his involvement in the project and that new CEO David Zaslav axed it. While discussing Strange Adventures, he seemed genuinely confused by the actions taken after the merger. He called canceling a Latina-led Batgirl movie a “bad look” in the wake of all the actions taken by the white lead of Flash, Ezra Miller. Zaslav said the film received lousy pre-screening feedback and, therefore, they believed the better option was to take a $20 million write-off by canceling the film. Smith believes there has to be something more to his actions. He even referred to Zaslav’s previous work. The CEO previously axed CNN+. Something Smith believes was a personal vendetta for creating it before he took over.
Strange Adventures was an anthology project Kevin Smith signed on to work on a few years ago. He recalled believing it would be a $4 million project. To his surprise, he was floored when he discovered he was involved in a $20 million project. He was given a list of lesser-known characters to choose from outside the typical Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman levels. The director decided to create a story involving Bizzaro (a flip-side of Superman) and Jimmy Olsen (a long-time photographer accompanying Lois Lane).
The final script saw Bizzaro attempting to create a mirror version of Metropolis. In it, he was the hero Superman. He would later discover that he was a hated villain. The most surprising revelation he gave was that Kevin Smith was going after none other than Nicolas Cage to play Bizzaro. Cage had previously been slated to play Superman in a failed Tim Burton film, Superman Lives.
Kevin Smith didn’t hide his ire for how Zaslav handled the WBD merger. While he said that Strange Adventures was a long shot and he was happy he got paid and even understood the decision to ax it, he spoke prophetically to his doubts about the long-awaited Green Lantern series and even believes that HBO Max itself would cease to exist by the time Zaslav was finished with the merger. Towards the end of the conversation, Smith echoed the feelings of many fans at the recent string of announcements. It is hard to be a DC fan, and it has been since Batman Vs. Superman hit theaters six years ago.
It’s been a rough ride for DC lately, this Kevin Smith news included. Amber Heard/Johnny Depp trial marred the upcoming release of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Ezra Miller’s ongoing saga all but kills any hope of a future for his Flash. The DCEU seemed all but dead. The merger between Warner Bros. and Discovery signaled a changing of the guard. And a few properties have found themselves collateral damage. The $90 million Batgirl film is the most publicized. It is being called “irredeemable” and cut from the release slate to save money. With Kevin Smith and Strange Adventures now gone you have to wonder what is next.
