“Batgirl next!“: WBD CEO David Zaslav Faces Grim Future as Congressman Calls For Federal Investigation Into ‘Coyote Vs. Acme’ Scrapping
American media executive David Zaslav began his career at NBC in 1989. Not only did he serve as the president of the network but also watched over NBCUniversal’s interests. In May 2021, he was appointed as the CEO of Discovery’s merger with AT&T’s WarnerMedia after working at Discovery Communications for 15 years.
A little more than a year later, David Zaslav was under fire for cutting down on the content library of the streaming service HBO Max. He did so by evading residual payments which were used as tax write-offs. This might not have been an issue if David Zaslav had not shelved some projects that were in post-production or nearly completed. When WB announced the shelving of COYOTE VS. ACME, a Congressman did not hold back his views.
David Zaslav’s Decision Was Criticized by a Congressman for His Handling of Coyote vs. Acme
Coyote vs. Acme is the story of how a speechless and luckless Wile E. Coyote teams up with the lawyer Will Forte to fight with the ACME corporation. Bearing a resemblance to the cartoons, Coyote buys ACME devices to murder Road Runner. Realizing that the devices never work properly, Coyote decides to take down the ACME company.
However, it was recently announced that the movie will not see the light of day, suffering from a similar fate to that of the WB movies Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Hunt. After a lot of public backlash, WB decided to let the creator sell it to other distributors and studios.
A Congressman Joaquin Castro took to his X (formerly Twitter) account to criticize WBD for its behavior and called for an investigation. He likened the company’s project-scrapping decisions to “burning down a building for the insurance money.”
The @WBD tactic of scrapping fully made films for tax breaks is predatory and anti-competitive.
As the Justice Department and @FTC revise their antitrust guidelines they should review this conduct.
As someone remarked, it’s like burning down a building for the insurance money. https://t.co/Vb8vj3brD7
— Joaquin Castro (@JoaquinCastrotx) November 14, 2023
The fact that Coyote vs. Acme was not unfinished like Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Hunt even had a favorable audience screening with scores above 90s made the fans even more enraged. Consequently, the studio has now allowed director Dave Green to shop the project.
WB’s Decision for Coyote vs. Acme Has Given Fans Hope for the Release of Batgirl
Brendan Fraser’s Batgirl was also a victim of the Warner Bros. Discovery merger’s cost-cutting measures. The company also planned to focus more on theatrical releases and canceled the movie’s release on HBO Max. This announcement was heartbreaking for the cast and crew that had worked so hard on the movie and the fans who had been eagerly anticipating its release.
However, now with WB letting Coyote vs. Acme‘s director shop the movie to other distributors and studios for its release, it has given the fans newfound hope for the release of Batgirl. A fan on X (formerly Twitter) expressed their excitement, writing: “Batgirl next!”
Yo I didn’t see this coming but the wide acceptance of this kind of move as totally unacceptable is amazing! Let’s hope it brings a lot of these axed-and-finished films back from the dead! Batgirl next!
— Tom | The Outatime Film Podcast (@outatimefilmpod) November 14, 2023
batgirl we’re gonna get you back https://t.co/iCjXCNRtE5
— Zoë Rose Bryant (@ZoeRoseBryant) November 14, 2023
Justice for Batgirl too
— Libra Messy (@cerveaubrouille) November 15, 2023
Bring us Batgirl
— Uncanny Mr. L.W. Barricade (@CHARLIEBOT34) November 14, 2023
Let’s see if we can get Batgirl released too
— Thomas Trinity (@DJThomasTrinity) November 15, 2023
Shit while yall at it, see what u can do about that BatGirl film
— 🍭LalliPop🍭 (@blackgirlmarvel) November 15, 2023
Hopefully, WBD CEO David Zaslav is going to learn from his mistake of scrapping projects when they are in the final stages of development as it not only harms the artists’ career but also fan sentiments. Not to mention WBD itself.