Since taking over as CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, David Zaslav has been pretty clear about his desire to create a streamlined universe for DC's film and television properties. Marvel has found huge success with this approach, but if DC follows suit, what would it mean for projects that exist outside said universe? For movies - Batgirl notwithstanding - it looks to mean very little; Warner Bros. is moving forward with sequels to standalone films The Batman and Joker. For television, on the other hand, it may mean a lot.
With The Flash ending, the once-thriving Arrowverse is finished, and many fans fear that the upcoming seasons of Titans and Doom Patrol might also be those series' last. Additionally, HBOMax has no current plans to renew Young Justice, and the streamer recently passed on Bruce Timm's upcoming animated series, Batman: Caped Crusader. While Batman: Caped Crusader is likely to end up elsewhere, much like the Cartoon Network-bound My Adventures With Superman, the overall outlook for current DC television projects seems bleak. What remains unclear is how any of this might affect The CW's Superman & Lois.
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In many ways, Superman & Lois has felt insulated from much of the turmoil at Warner Bros. True, Jordan Elsass's recent departure and Nexstar's purchase of The CW have created some uncertainty, but the series remains a consistent critical hit and begins shooting its third season this fall. Also, given David Zaslav's stated desire to push marquis characters like Superman, it makes sense to keep Superman & Lois around. For the last five years, Henry Cavill's future in the DCEU has been up in the air. Thus, in that time, Tyler Hoechlin has been Warner Bros.' only official live-action Superman. If Cavill had decided to hang up his cape for good, it may even have made sense for Hoechlin to replace him. Cavill's rumored return could change that.
A shared TV/film DC universe could very well mean that Warner Bros. executives want to avoid having multiple conflicting versions of characters existing at the same time. Historically, studios have feared that such an occurrence could confuse audiences. TV Superman is married with twin sons. Movie Superman is not. Are they the same person? Why do they look different? Certainly, studios often exaggerate this fear. Decades of superhero movies have taught most viewers how to navigate these sorts of questions without too much trouble. Yet, even so-called "streamlined" universes come with their own pitfalls.
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Comic book continuity can be confusing, even for the most devoted fans. For a casual audience, parsing out which properties coexist and which events and character details are or are not canon may seem like more effort than it's worth. A single, shared universe helps ease a lot of that burden. The Steve Rogers who appears in Captain America: The First Avenger is the same Steve Rogers who appears in Avengers: Endgame. Then again, even something as streamlined as the MCU has its murkier corners. For example, where does Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. fit into the official timeline? The first two seasons felt like part of the overall saga, but later seasons did not. If the series is no longer part of the MCU, what does that mean for the version of Agent Coulson who died in Marvel's The Avengers? If canonicity is so fluid, why does it matter so much?
Henry Cavill is a great Superman who deserves an opportunity to play a kinder, less brooding, comics-accurate version of the character. Tyler Hoechlin is also a great Superman who deserves the opportunity keep turning in the most charming Man of Steel performance since Christopher Reeve's. A shared universe is a fun and worthwhile endeavor, but the cost is too high if it means losing the variety of character interpretations fans have come to enjoy. Henry Cavill's potential return is great news. Hopefully the bad news of Superman & Lois's cancellation doesn't follow it.