HBO Max announces 3-part DC Comics documentary
Details are slim, but the series will focus on DC's "enduring and influential legacy"
Disney has made a habit of mythologizing itself and the various media brands it has its tendrils in, like with the surprisingly touching documentary series Marvel’s 616 and the many behind-the-scenes specials about Disney parks or Pixar animation on Disney+. But now HBO Max seems to be getting in on that fun with a new three-part documentary series all about DC Comics’s “history and legacy.” The timing of this seems kind of arbitrary, since it’s not a milestone anniversary for the company and there’s no big DC-based event coming up like a new Justice League movie, which makes us think this is less about being the definitive story of DC and more about Warner Bros. just saying “let’s remind everybody about how much they like the DC superheroes.”
And hey, there’s nothing wrong with that. Like we said, Marvel does that all the time, often within the Marvel Universe itself. This DC project doesn’t seem to have a name, but a press release from HBO Max says it’s going to be co-directed by Oscar and Emmy-nominated filmmaker Leslie Iwerks, who… has actually done this sort of thing already for Disney+. She made that platform’s The Imagineering Story (and The Pixar Story, which predates Disney+). Also, she’s the granddaughter of Mickey Mouse co-creator Ub Iwerks, so if she can get along with both Disney and Warner Bros., maybe there’s hope for world peace after all. (The other co-director is Mark Catalena, who doesn’t seem to be related to any legendary figures in animation.)
As for this three-part documentary, it’s also being produced by noted DC fan (and Arrowverse creator) Greg Berlanti, and it will take “an unprecedented look at the enduring and influential legacy of DC.” That will involve exploring “the iconic comic book company’s origins, its evolution, and its nearly nine-decade cultural impact across every artistic medium.” The series doesn’t seem to have a title yet, and other than some shining praise for DC Comics from DC CCO Jim Lee (it turns out he’s a comic fan, who knew?), there’s not much information.