"Daniel, what you're asking for is big. That kind of money for a series?" Reed Hastings' voice crackled through the phone as I walked briskly down the sidewalk toward the restaurant.
I stepped around a man walking his dog and replied calmly, "Reed, look I know it seems like a gamble, but you also know how popular these books of mine have become. You've seen the numbers hell, you're a fan yourself."
A pause.
"And," I continued, "you know how much money Percy Jackson made for Netflix."
There was a sigh on the other end. "Percy Jackson and this… this thing you're pitching now they're in different leagues, Daniel."
I smirked to myself. "I think you and I both know that fifteen million per episode is more than doable for Netflix. May I remind you that you just green-lit a series for ten million per episode?"
"Yes," Reed admitted, "but—"
"Look, Reed," I cut in, "I've already got other platforms circling. HBO is interested, and there are others…"
That made him go quiet.
The door to the restaurant was opened for me as I entered. I nodded at the host and lowered my voice as I walked toward the back. "Also, I know there's been rumbling in the boardroom about my increasing influence especially from that one investment group and that idiot who's trying to kill every good idea I've been trying to implement."
Reed didn't respond.
I saw the maître d' approaching and gave him a polite nod. He gestured for me to follow. I covered the mic on my phone. "Private room?."
"Yes, Mr. Adler," the man said, smiling.
Back on the call, I said, "Reed, let's not let politics get in the way of something that's going to be huge. I'll call you back. Think about what I said and fix the budget issues on season two. It's getting embarrassing."
I ended the call before he could respond.
The maître d' led me down a quiet corridor to a door at the far end. He opened it, and there waiting with his usual jolly expression was Buddy Hager, chairman of Stardust Entertainment and former head of Nebula Studios.
"Danny!" Buddy called out, beaming as he stood to greet me.
I matched his energy and stepped forward. "Buddy," I said, smiling.
We hugged briefly, then shook hands.
Buddy looked me over and raised an eyebrow. "You look thinner than last time, my boy. What happened?"
I just smiled, and we both took our seats at the table.
"So," Buddy continued, settling back, "two Oscar nominations. That's big, Danny."
"Thank you," I said, keeping my tone even.
"And our Superman is even nominated," Buddy added proudly. "Getting the respect it deserves."
"Sadly, I don't think any of our films will get near Best Picture," I admitted. Maybe The Dark Knight will, a voice in my mind whispered.
"So… I think you know why I'm here."
Buddy nodded, his expression shifting slightly. "I do. And I understand your position yours and Dave's."
What Buddy was referring to was… complicated.
When Stardust Entertainment was formed after the merger of Stardust Studios and Nebula Studios chaos reigned for a while. Out of that chaos, DC Studios was born. Dave was named its head, and I became CCO.
But from the beginning, we had limits.
Neither of us could green-light a single project without sign-off from a tangled web of legacy Nebula executives who now sat on the unified Stardust board. There was a hierarchy layers of bureaucracy still clinging to the merger days positioned above both Dave and me.
In the early days of DC Studios, there had been an agreement that, as the merger stabilized, DC would gain more autonomy the power to truly run its own slate, to be more streamlined, focused, and creatively unchained. That promise had not yet materialized.
And while things looked smooth on the surface now, Dave and I were feeling it the creeping shadow of interference. It wasn't a big problem yet, but I knew it could become one soon.
I met Buddy's eyes. "We need to do this."
He didn't respond, waiting.
I leaned forward. "I don't know how much you've heard about what happened with Batman 3, but that fiasco only exposed the problem. We could have green-lit the movie last month, but we haven't, because some people feel we don't need another Batman movie before Justice League."
Buddy listened, poker-faced.
"We've made it, Buddy. Batman, Wonder Woman, Superman everyone's talking about them again. This is the superhero-movie decade hell maybe decades…and I don't want anyone to ruin it for us."
I let that hang in the air for a second.
"Let's not lose it now," I said.
Buddy nodded slowly, his expression thoughtful.
"Look, I'm in agreement Batman 3 should be made. But talk to me about production time. Can it really be done? The schedule looks congested."
I nodded confidently. "It can be done. Easily."
Buddy raised an eyebrow. "Go on."
"The Batman 3 script will be finished by September. Pre-production will start at the same time. That gives us enough lead-in to begin filming in February 2016. If we stay on schedule, we're looking at a November release."
Buddy weighed that, nodding slowly. "And Green Lantern?"
I smiled. "The script is being written now and will be done by the end of the year."
Before I could continue, Buddy cut in. "I heard something about there being two versions of the script?"
"Ah, yes," I said, taking a breath. "As you know, we're planning to feature both Hal Jordan and John Stewart. Hal will be the seasoned veteran John's mentor while John is our lead, the Lantern of the Justice League."
Buddy leaned back, intrigued.
"In one version," I continued, "we use the White Martian invasion storyline. That would also introduce Martian Manhunter."
"And the second?" Buddy asked.
"In the second version, Sinestro is the main antagonist. That draft is less developed so far."
Buddy scratched his chin. "I do like the White Martian idea. But wouldn't that be better used in Justice League?"
I nodded. "Exactly what Scott and I were thinking."
I paused for a bit and gathered my thoughts and continued.
"Scott…Scott Snyder is co-writing Justice League with me. Our goal is to spotlight the team itself. We need a formidable threat big enough to force the heroes to unite yet a villain whose presence supports, rather than eclipses that. The movie should be about the League learning to work together, with the antagonist acting as the catalyst, not the main attraction."
"So if you go with the Sinestro version for Green Lantern," Buddy said, following the logic, "we can save the White Martians for Justice League which fits what you describe here."
"Exactly. We're also toying with the idea of making Despero the mastermind behind the invasion pulling the White Martians' strings."
"Starro," Buddy said suddenly, tapping a finger on the table. "Starro would work as well he was their first villain, after all."
I nodded. "Yeah, we've thought about that too."
Leaning forward, I began ticking the names off on my fingers. "Starro. Vandal Savage. Despero. Brainiac. Even the Legion of Doom. We've considered them all each one brings something different to the table."
Buddy listened closely, nodding along.
"Anyway," I continued, shifting back to production logistics, "Green Lantern is slated for a summer 2017 release, and Justice League will drop in December 2017. That gives us plenty of time to shoot and polish all three films without rushing."
Buddy hesitated, then said, "I'm not sure about that December date, Danny. I've heard rumors Disney might have another Star Wars movie around then."
I shrugged. "Last I heard, they're aiming for May 2017 but who knows with them. Either way, we're not moving the date again; we've already shuffled the schedule too much."
Buddy smiled. "You know, I'm really glad I pushed for the merger. You were a godsend, Danny. Five years ago, I thought the era of live-action superhero films was over now look at us."
I smiled back appreciatively. "Thanks, Buddy."
He looked thoughtful. "I love what I'm hearing about Justice League really, I do. But I think you should focus more attention on Green Lantern right now. That one's less developed; it needs some hands-on care."
"Fair point," I said. "I'll talk to Geoff about it this week. Scott and I will lock down the Justice League direction so it's easy for Geoff to write."
Buddy nodded. A brief silence settled between us.
"Listen," Buddy said at last, "I'll make sure DC Studios becomes fully autonomous, just like you were promised. You and Dave deserve to work in peace no more red tape. From now on, you'll report directly to me and Chris. I just want to see these characters thrive. I want the world to love them again millions and billions."
I met his gaze. "I can promise you that, Buddy."
"Thank you."
We both leaned back just as the waiter arrived with our food. The difficult conversation faded into the background, replaced by a more relaxed discussion me outlining the rest of my DCU roadmap and how I planned to make it stand apart from the MCU.
========
"It's done," I said, striding down the hall toward the writers' room, Dave just behind me.
Dave smiled, visibly relieved. "Oh, thank God. With Buddy on board we can finally move forward..."
We pushed open the doors to the big, windowless room where the DC Studios writers were already gathered some leaning back with coffee, others scribbling in notebooks, a few staring at laptops.
I stepped to the front and clapped my hands once. "All right," I said, catching everyone's attention. "Today we need to decide one thing."
They sat up.
"Do we go with the Joker again as the primary villain in Batman 3, or do we use the Riddler plot I mentioned last week?"
Instant chaos erupted: a dozen voices talking at once some excited, some skeptical, some already pulling up outlines and notes. Everyone had an opinion.
I took a seat at the head of the table beside Dave, watching the storm for a moment.
"No rush," I said, cutting through the noise just enough to regain control. "We have time…"
"Seven more months that is…."