The ramifications of the Warner Bros.

The live-action Batgirl movie has been canceled, with other DC projects rumored to follow.

Let's take a closer look at what these changes mean for the DC line and HBO Max as a whole, and why Warner Bros.

Warners has often seemed unsure of the best way to go about building a shared universe, first mimicking the MCU model with early films like Batman v Superman and Justice League and then pivoting to emphasize a multiverse of films and shows that aren't all necessarily connected.

As early as May 2021, Variety reported that CEO David Zaslav is seeking a return to a more unified, MCU-style approach to DC's movies, to the point that Zaslav is reportedly seeking out a Kevin Feige figure to oversee the DC brand.

That mentality seems to be at the root of why the Batgirl movie was canceled.

Batgirl was originally conceived as a relatively lower-budget DC movie that would head directly to HBO Max.

It's a smaller-scale film that clashes with Zaslav's vision of what DC's movie line should offer.

Because of that, the risk-averse Warner Bros.

And while it's still very early in the new Warner Bros.

"Clearly, Warner Media intends to sacrifice a considerable portion of the profitability of its movie studio division, and that of its production partners and filmmakers, to subsidize its HBO Max startup," said AMC Theaters CEO Adam Aron.

That release strategy also caused a very public falling-out between WarnerMedia and director Christopher Nolan, who wrote, "Some of our industry’s biggest filmmakers and most important movie stars went to bed the night before thinking they were working for the greatest movie studio and woke up to find out they were working for the worst streaming service.”.

This move sends a clear message that the bottom line is all that matters to the heads of Warner Bros.

How many directors and producers will look at the Batgirl cancellation and second-guess whether their passion project is safe at Warner Bros.

Shows like Oz, The Sopranos, Deadwood, The Wire and Game of Thrones earned the premium network piles of awards and a reputation for quality.

By calling the service HBO Max, WarnerMedia clearly hoped to build on that reputation and rely on big-budget projects like House of the Dragon and The Last of Us to win the streaming wars?

Those networks emphasize unscripted content like nature documentaries, home improvement shows and various types of reality TV.

In this new climate, even major tentpoles like House of the Dragon are facing an uncertain future?

The company looks poised to slash resources for HBO Max's animation content, suggesting that previously key franchises like Adventure Time are no longer a priority (while also casting further doubt on the future of DC shows like Young Justice and Harley Quinn).