DC's Penguin Won't Repeat Marvel's TV Mistakes Says HBO CEO - Here's Why

There's definitely been a notable downtick in 2023 regarding the public's reaction to superhero properties. While Marvel has reckoned with the lackluster reaction to "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" and "Secret Wars," DC has seen diminishing returns on its own properties, including "Shazam: Fury of the Gods," "The Flash," and "Blue Beetle."

Still, Casey Bloys, the content chief for HBO and Max, doesn't think it's time to sound the alarm quite yet. He said as much at a recent programming showcase while talking (via Deadline) about the upcoming "The Batman" spin-off, "The Penguin." "I don't know that it's necessarily tentpole fatigue as much as it is a sameness of storytelling," Bloys explained.

Being that the last couple of years have also seen big hits like "The Batman," "Peacemaker," and "Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3," many would likely agree with Bloys that it's not quite the time to throw in the towel on superhero projects. Still, the HBO exec did concede that it may be time to switch things up a bit. "I think the key, even within DC, is trying to tell different stories in different styles, to not try to do the same show over and over and over again," he said.

It's pretty easy to see what Casey Bloys is talking about here, even by simply comparing the tone of "The Batman" and "Peacemaker." The former is very much a dark mystery noir with superhero touches, while the latter is as much a screwball comedy as it is a violent thrill ride.

With this in mind, if DC can keep producing films and television series that feel different from what fans have come to expect, they should be able to continue to thrive. "I would say Peacemaker is a very different show tonally than The Penguin. So, there's not a uniformity to the storytelling, and I think that helps," Bloys explained.

Bloys also went on to point out that the problem on Marvel's side of the street may be that they've oversaturated the market to some degree. "Unfortunately, Marvel, as good as their shows are, there's probably been a lot of them," he suggested. "That's one of the advantages we have at Warner Bros. is it's not just one set of stories. There's a lot of stories you can go to."

As it stands, fans will probably give "The Penguin" a shot based on the goodwill of "The Batman" alone. Still, after a string of disappointments in 2022 and 2023, DC devotees will likely be glad to hear that there are better things coming around the corner and that the top brass knows it's time to make a change.