The weird, sprawling saga of Warner Bros. Discovery just dropped another major plot twist, as Netflix has seemingly emerged victorious in the bidding war over the company. This means that Netflix, already one of the biggest entertainment companies in the world, will now control the film and TV rights to franchises like Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, and, of course, DC. Batman is now a Netflix character (provided the acquisition is approved by federal regulators, that is).

This new deal raises many, many questions about the future of Warner Bros. as a studio and what this means for theatrical distribution, many of which will only be answered in the months and years to come. But for many superhero fans, the biggest question is what this all means for DC Entertainment, a company that has already experienced more than its fair share of turmoil in recent years. Let’s explore why the best-case scenario for DC right now is simply business as usual.

A Decade of Turmoil at DC

DC’s leadership has been nothing if not tumultuous over the past decade. Back in 2016, Warners ushered in the era of DC Films, with Geoff Johns and Jon Berg serving as co-chairmen of the division. But after films like Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League underperformed, Johns stepped down in favor of Walter Hamada in 2018.

Despite the success of 2018’s Aquaman and 2019’s Joker, the DC brand remained on rocky footing, leading Hamada himself to leave the company in 2022. Thus began a brief bloodbath where several parties jockeyed for control of DC’s future, including Black Adam star Dwayne Johnson. Only in 2023 did things settle down when James Gunn and Peter Safran were announced as the new co-CEOs of the rebranded DC Studios and the sun finally, officially set on the DC Extended Universe.

Nor has this behind-the-scenes chaos been limited to DC’s film and TV division. The publishing side has also seen some big shake-ups in recent years. DC Entertainment President Diane Nelson left the company in 2018. In 2019, DC laid off approximately 3% of its staff, and co-publisher Dan DiDio left the company later that year, cutting short plans for the controversial 5G initiative that would have replaced DC’s iconic cast of heroes with a new generation of characters. Currently, DC’s publishing division is overseen by President, Publisher, and Chief Creative Officer Jim Lee and Editor-in-Chief Marie Javins.

In short, this is a lot of chaos for any one company to endure in such a relatively short span of time. There’s been a tangible lack of consistency and direction behind the DC brand for a long time now. Just look at the latter years of the DCEU, with the company afraid to leave behind the foundation established in Zack Snyder’s films but simultaneously failing to build on that foundation in a meaningful way. And all the while, box office returns steadily plummeted.

Meanwhile, DC continued to struggle in other media. 2024’s Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League proved that even the mighty Rocksteady can miss with the DC brand. Over on the comics side, while the 5G reboot and its accompanying revamped DC timeline were certainly ambitious, they threatened to undo all the goodwill DC had only recently recaptured through the DC Rebirth initiative.

DC was badly in need of a consistent, steady vision by the time Gunn and Safran were hired to right the ship in 2023. And while it’s far too early to say whether they’ve accomplished that goal, the early signs are certainly promising. Superman was the box office success DC sorely needed after a truly disastrous 2023 and 2024 film slate. Creature Commandos and Peacemaker have established a strong track record for the DCU on the streaming front. And as for the comics, the Lee/Javins era of DC Comics has been truly great, most notably giving us the chart-topping Absolute Universe imprint.

Things are finally looking up for DC, which is exactly why the chaos and confusion of the Netflix acquisition is an unwelcome development. The very last thing this company needs is another regime change or a fundamental pivot.

Why Netflix Needs to Trust the Plan

It’s going to take some time for Netflix’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery to be approved and completed (and there are any number of things that could go wrong along the way). But once all the t’s are crossed and the i’s are dotted, Netflix is going to have a massive pile of new IP to play with. Which then begs the question, do they continue following Warners’ roadmap for these franchises or start fresh?

It’s hard to imagine Netflix changing course with the Harry Potter and Game of Thrones series. They’ll be inheriting a Harry Potter series in the midst of adapting the original novels and an ever-growing slate of Game of Thrones spinoffs. No reason to rock those boats. But with DC, there’s always a danger that Netflix will want to wipe the slate clean and start a brand new shared universe of films and shows from the ground up for their streaming service.

We can only hope the company resists that particular urge. After so many years of creative turmoil and leadership shake-ups, the very last thing DC needs right now is change. Gunn and Safran need to be left alone to cook. We’ve only gotten one live-action DCU movie so far in Superman, which will be followed in 2026 by Supergirl and Clayface and in 2027 by Gunn’s Superman sequel Man of Tomorrow. On the TV front, we’ve only seen the barest glimpse of 2026’s Lanterns and the other shows that will make up this new universe.

Clearly, there’s a plan in place. Gunn even has a name for it - “Chapter One: Gods and Monsters.” But we’re still in the very early stages of that plan. As much as things are looking up for DC after a bad few years, we’re still very much in the rebuilding stage right now. Gunn’s Superman did respectably well at the box office (narrowly beating 2013’s Man of Steel domestically), but one might argue that a big-budget Superman reboot by the director of the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy should have performed better. Repairing the damage done to the DC brand is a long-term, ongoing process.

Netflix needs to commit to letting that process continue to play out, not tossing everything out and starting over yet again. We just found the ideal live-action Superman in David Corenswet. Don’t start that agonising process all over again.

And what of DC Comics in all of this? Is DC’s publishing division even a blip on Netflix’s radar? Will they have any interest in overseeing a comic book publisher, or simply license DC’s characters out to other companies? Again, DC Comics has been in a very good place these past couple of years, so the ideal scenario is that Netflix stays as hands-off with the division as it has Mark Millar’s Millarworld line. Let DC Comics continue to operate as it has these past few years, producing good, character-driven stories that can be adapted in other media.

If Netflix wants to make waves anywhere with the DC brand, it should be with the games division. While somewhat overshadowed in the initial announcement, it’s been confirmed that Netflix will take ownership of WB Games along with everything else. With all the movies Netflix has been making into the interactive games space lately, they may well have big plans for the developers and IP now coming under their umbrella.

As it is, WB Games has hardly been making the best use of the DC brand in recent years. Games like 2022’s Gotham Knights and the aforementioned Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League were big disappointments, while the much-anticipated Wonder Woman game has been canceled after a long, chaotic development cycle. Meanwhile, as much as Gunn and Safran seem to be including the games in their long-term plans for the DC line, that has yet to yield any concrete announcements. Hopefully, having Netflix’s resources to bring to bear can only mean better things for DC’s future gaming slate.

But beyond the games, the best thing that can happen for DC in the midst of this merger is nothing at all. After so many years of shifting leadership and pivots in direction, what DC needs is stability, consistency, and a chance to win back moviegoers still skeptical of the brand. What it doesn’t need is a new captain at the helm or yet another reboot. Just trust that Gunn and company know what they’re doing and leave it at that.

Should Netflix overhaul the approach to the DC brand, or do you want to see Gunn and Safran continue their vision for the DCU? Vote in our poll and let us know your thoughts in the comments below:

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.