#studio interference

Because I chose to believe that the cool, talented, creative people that Marvel hired* wouldn't make these stupid decisions without a bunch of suits who don't value any of the aforementioned breathing down their necks.

It’s not in the extensive cut, either, by the way, so, yes, that scene is gone. Eggers never said anything about the cuts of “Nosferatu”, other than acknowledging there is a director’s cut and a “international version” he prefers. We Eggers fans already saw this happening with “The Northman”, Eggers reassured us he had “total creative control” over “Nosferatu”, yet in the Audio commentary, he actively complained about dialogue having to be cut; he stepped aside from the marketing campaign for unknown reasons, and there’s a bunch of huge differences between his original 2016 script and the final one, yet he called it the same film.

There is no doubt in my mind there was a bunch of studio interference with “Nosferatu”, and probably to get the film greenlight after a whole decade. Eggers vision lacks mainstream appeal, as do his films in general. I don’t know why general audiences couldn’t sit through less than 6 extra minutes with “Nosferatu” (which change the context of a lot of things, as I already discussed here), unless the idea was, indeed, to screw Eggers’ vision, and I think the reception and insistence on silencing him speaks for itself.

Now, I hate to gossip about Production drama, but anyone who goes through all the interviews, can see it. Costume designer Linda Muir kept contradicting what Eggers himself (+ other cast and crew members) explained on interviews, peaking with her and hair designer Suzanne Stokes-Munton colliding in a Oscar interview. It’s uncertain if it’s her own perspective or what was going on, but what she said not only goes against Eggers, but align with the version the studio was trying to sell. I hate this since she’s a long time Eggers collaborator and her work is exceptional, but I can’t sweep it under the rug.

On November 9th, the CW’s Supergirl came to an end. Many fans, myself included, were saddened that Kara and Lena didn’t end up together in a romantic relationship at the series end. Although the chances were slim to none, many of us were hoping for a Korrasami style ending at the very least. Instead, the queerbaiting of Supercorp is one of the show’s lasting legacies. But why? What was there to lose in the show’s final season? A recent interview from Jay Faerber (linked here) had some interesting answers. Two that caught my ear were that there was a lot of support for Supercorp from a lot of the writers and showrunners, and that each season the crew received a package that detailed which comic characters they could use if they choose to do so. WB always had their fingers in the pie, so to speak. Faerber even makes a point of mentioning that they had to go upstairs to allow for Melissa Benoist to get a haircut or have pants.

So why mention all this? I believe that WB was the one who blocked Supercorp from happening. Perhaps the CW holds some of the blame, which I wouldn’t hold it past them. However, as I will soon discuss, WB has interfered with the Arrowverse several times in the past.

Arrow

Arrow had multiple instances where WB interfered with the storytelling of the show. The major one? The destruction of the Suicide Squad:

One of the most promising storylines from Arrow was the beginning of the Suicide Squad. Slowly building up in season 2, it seemed like this was going to be a major aspect of the show, if not it’s own spin-off. There was even a Harley Quinn tease. But then...they killed Deadshot. And Waller. WHAT?

This is because Suicide Squad by David Ayer was in production and WB didn’t want people to be confused as to why there was two versions of the characters, because they must assume that their audiences are stupid. Regardless, that was the end of that storyline. Willa Holland admitted that she and others thought the decision was frustrating, but there was nothing that they could do.

The next major interference was the disappearance of Slade ‘Deathstroke’ Wilson. Fans of this character, who is still highly regarded as one of the best villains of the entire Arrowverse, were very confused when he all but disappeared from the show until season 5 brought him back, with season 6 wrapping up his story for good.. But why? Because of Justice League was in production.

Thus, the show lost one of the most dynamic characters because WB wanted to focus on this version of Deathstroke...which went absolutely no where. Great choice WB, great choice.

So two major villain/anti-hero storylines from the show were forced to stop because the WB wanted to focus on the DCEU. But what was the other major one?

The introduction of Ray Palmer into the Arrowverse. Remember how Arrow spent several episodes mentioning Kord Industries, hinting at the introduction of Ted Kord, better known as the Blue Beetle? If you do, do you also remember being shocked that Ray Palmer was brought on instead? Me too. This is because Brandon was originally brought on to play Ted Kord, but last minute studio interference forced the writers to use Ray ‘the Atom’ Palmer instead. No one outside the studio really knows why the change was made, but it was. Ray became a fan favourite, so it worked out in the end but what made them decide to make the change? Since then, there has been very little mention of Kord.

There are some other, more minor moments of interference from the studio. Until Batwoman was introduced to the universe, there had been a no Bruce name drop rule at all times. Also, the Bird of Prey were not to be used for the longest time due to the ban on Barbara Gordon, despite the introduction of the sympathetic Huntress and Black Canary.

Smallville, despite being one of the most popular DC properties, had its limitations from WB as well. Despite the use of popular DC characters such as Oliver Queen, Arthur Curry, and Dinah Lance, the Smallvile crew was barred from using two characters in particular:

Bruce Wayne and Diana Prince.

Most likely in case they chose to do shows based off of these two, but regardless, Batman and Wonder Woman were not allowed to be mentioned on the show directly, nor where they allowed to be brought on. This carried over to the Arrowverse until Batwoman came to light. Batman himself really hasn’t appeared in the show, but a fake Bruce and a real Bruce has. Wonder Woman has been mentioned but that’s it.

Supergirl

Supergirl has had some interference as well. In the first season of the show, Clark was never allowed to appear on screen fully. That did change in season 2, when Tyler Hoechlin was casted as Clark Kent. However, his character had special limitations put in place. He was only allowed to appear for a certain amount episodes in season 2. After that, he was very limited in the amount of appearances he could have.

Lex Luthor was not allowed to really be mentioned fully until season 4, when he was introduced to the show. Despite the Luthor family being on the show, they could not use the name of DC’s most well known villain. I am unsure of the reason behind this, but it was noticeable.

As previously mentioned, but Benoist was not allowed to change her physical appearance unless otherwise approved due to her look being specific to Kara. She had been asking for pants for her super suit for quite awhile prior to its introduction in season 5. Vancouver gets chilly y’all, yet she had to fight for something warmer and less revealing. And don’t get me wrong, I loved the iconic Supergirl look, but I also want the people playing them to be comfortable.

Conclusion

These characters are all intellectual properties. Understandably, there are many hoops to go through to use them in the first place. However, there shouldn’t be last minute changes or out right refusals from WB once someone gets the okay to do something.

It is on the showrunners and writers to make this clear, however. If Supercorp was blocked from WB, I wouldn’t be surprised. And I’ll point out there is a difference between fun easter eggs vs. dropped storylines and characters. The examples I used are the ones where the interference is the reason for these things disappearing without much explanation.

Who knows, maybe the CW was the one who said no. But, I just can’t see a network choosing to lose the viewers and to lose the money that they can make from the show (DVD/Blu-Ray sales, viewership numbers, con appearances) over making their most popular ship canon. From a business standpoint, I can’t wrapped my head around it. We will most likely never know the real reason why, but since the WB has proven itself as the big bully on the playground at times, this is why I believe they are the ones who put their foot down on it.