'There's no question that audiences demand more diverse representation in movies, rightly so, and the recipe for box office success equally includes the quality of the final product,' Robbins said.

Yet Robbins believes that prioritizing the narrative is another must, in terms of perfecting the cash cow recipe. 'Innovative and inspired casting can often reinvigorate a brand or character in one fell swoop.' 'Diversity on screen has proven to have tremendous appeal to audiences around the world, so nothing is really off the table,' said Paul Dergarabedian, senior analyst for Comscore, in regards to the possibility of diversifying Superman. With more diverse projects in the cannon for Warner Bros., like the all female team up ' Birds of Prey' coming in 2020, Superman's cinematic fate is now a looming question, especially since diversity has become such a proven necessity at the box office. declined to comment on whether that had changed. and DC made it clear in a statement back in 2018 that 'we have made no current decisions regarding any upcoming Superman films.' Warner Bros. Reports also circulated the web for the last year and a half that Cavill was to be removed from the character, but he has since gone on to say, 'The cape is in the closet… It's still mine.' However, Warner Bros. 'The franchise has experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows at various points throughout the last few decades,' said Shawn Robbins, chief analyst for, adding that the successes and failures range 'from a history-making blockbuster to sequels that stumbled to reboots that won over some fan adoration.' 2013's 'Man of Steel,' a Superman reboot starring Henry Cavill, earned a modest $668 million worldwide on a $225 million budget, and Cavill's next two stints with the red cape were plagued with criticism and a huge box office blister in 2017's 'Justice League.' and DC, its subsidiary, have hit quite a hot streak with the likes of 'Wonder Woman,' 'Aqua Man' and 2019's ' Joker,' which earned over $1 billion worldwide and received a nomination for Best Picture at this year's Academy Awards.īut Superman has not accumulated the same levels of success. One Superman, played by Tyler Hoechlin, will star alongside Elizabeth Tulloch in the spin off series, 'Superman and Lois.' Yet, despite CW's ability to create well-received content centered around some of DC's most beloved characters, Warner Bros., owned by telecom and entertainment giant AT&T, has struggled to receive the same acclaim in theaters. Most recently, Superman was featured on CW's 'Crisis on Infinite Earth' television series, a well-received crossover event between multiple DC Comics characters and alternate versions of themselves.

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