DC Studios’ upcoming slate of films may be mostly on hold amid the ongoing Hollywood strikes, but co-heads Peter Safran and James Gunn did just manage to make a big move for its future.
Warner Bros. Discovery announced today a plan to expand Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden in South East England, which is also where House of the Dragon is shot, and make it the “primary hub” for DC Studios production.
Per WBD’s release, the expansion will add 10 new sound stages and an additional 400,000 square feet of production and support space. That’ll apparently grow their production capacity more than 50%, going from 19 to 29 sound stages and bumping the overall production space from 1.14 million sq. ft. to 1.78 million sq. ft. Construction is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2024 and be completed in 2027.
Gunn and Safran will personally consult on the expansion “to ensure that their ideas are incorporated into the new studio and production facilities,” WBD says.
In addition to HBO’s fantasy hit House of the Dragon (which has continued filming at the location amid the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strikes, as most of the cast is British and not members of the American guild), other recent productions shot at Leavesden include Greta Gerwig's megahit Barbie and DC’s own Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.
While that might just sound like a bunch of production talk, we should point out that the commitment is a strong show of confidence in DC Studios’ future amid a period of uncertainty. In January, Gunn and Safran announced the massive first phase of their revamped DCU, titled “Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters.” During that unveiling, they revealed five new TV shows and five new movies, starting with Gunn’s Superman: Legacy.
There were some doubts about DC’s cinematic future, however, after a number of big box office disappointments, from Shazam: Fury of the Gods to The Flash to, most recently, Blue Beetle. It has the aforementioned Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom on the horizon on Dec. 20, with the studio no doubt hoping it can replicate its predecessor’s $1 billion success.
Despite the missteps, WB has shown no sign of slowing down on Gunn and Safran’s upcoming vision for DC, and today’s announcement only reaffirms that they're committed to moving forward with the plan.
Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she's not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.
