Two More DC Projects Axed at HBO Max

By Jessica Lerner 

Two more DC television projects are on the chopping block at HBO Max.

The streamer has opted against moving forward with a Constantine reboot and the standalone series Madame X, both based on DC characters.

While there’s no word on why HBO Max passed on either TV project, it didn’t help matters that Warner Bros. is making a sequel to the 2005 supernatural action film Constantine with Keanu Reeves set to reprise his role.

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The projects were in development at the streamer and came from J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot in association with Warner Bros. Television.

The studio would pitch both shows to other platforms the following week, and Warner Bros. Television and Bad Robot are still very interested in them and anticipate that they will find new homes, according to Deadline.

Ever since August, there has been much speculation over what the future holds for HBO Max, especially regarding upcoming and current DC projects.

Warner Bros. Discovery made headlines after the cancelations of the nearly-completed $90 million feature film Batgirl, based on the DC character, and Scoob!: Holiday Haunt, a follow-up to 2020’s Scoob. Plus, HBO Max quietly removed multiple shows and movies, and more cuts may be coming as the company plans to merge its two streaming services—HBO Max and Discovery+—by the summer of 2023.

The Constantine reboot and standalone series Madame X join at least three projects that have already been scrapped over the past six months at HBO Max and reports circulated that Titans and Doom Patrol, both holdovers from the short-lived streamer DC Universe, could be axed following their respective upcoming fourth seasons.

However, there is still plenty of DC-based content at HBO Max.

Showrunner James Gunn has assured fans that Season 2 of Peacemaker, a spinoff of Gunn’s 2021 Suicide Squad, is still a go, and Season 3 of Pennyworth, retitled Pennyworth: The Origin of Batman’s Butler after its move from Epix to HBO Max, is set to premiere in October.

Additionally, the streamer recently renewed the adult-animated series Harley Quinn for a fourth season, and the second season of HBO Max’s original scripted podcast Batman: The Audio Adventures will premiere on Oct. 7.

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