Warner Bros. Discovery

Taraji P. Henson and Fantasia Barrino as Shug Avery and Celie in The Color Purple
Taraji P. Henson and Fantasia Barrino as Shug Avery and Celie in The Color Purple

SUMMARY

Considering the quality, quantity, and diversity of films distributed under the Warner Bros. Discovery banner, GLAAD has given Warner Bros. Discovery a POOR grade.

While Warner Bros. released the standout adaptation of The Color Purple, with Black queer women in the leading roles, the rest of its slate is wholly lacking. There is a brief inclusion of a gay superhero in Shazam! Fury of the Gods, but he is a minor character whose inclusion is not significant to the plot. Meanwhile there were zero LGBTQ-inclusive films from streamer Max.

Warner Bros. Discovery must sincerely invest in LGBTQ-led stories, as queer audiences may turn to companies and streamers that include their community.

HISTORY

Warner Bros. was founded by four Polish immigrant brothers in the early 1900s as a movie theater business, evolving into a film production studio in 1923. In April 2022, Warner Bros. merged with Discovery, Inc. to form Warner Bros. Discovery. The next year, Warner Bros. amended its initial plan to merge Discovery+ with HBO Max, now known as Max. As a result, Max includes “most” Discovery content while Discovery+ remains a stand-alone streaming service. Warner Bros. has produced critically acclaimed films such as Casablanca, A Clockwork Orange, Goodfellas, the blockbuster Harry Potter franchise, and multiple DC Comics adaptations. 
 
In one of Warner Bros. most infamous films, Rebel Without a Cause (1955), Sal Mineo plays the tragic character Plato, one of film’s earliest recognizable gay-coded characters. Other inclusive films released during the twentieth century, nearly all based on external source material that featured LGBTQ characters, include Dog Day Afternoon (1975), The Color Purple (1985), Interview with the Vampire (1994), and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997). In the 2010s, many of Warner Bros. films featured unwarranted gay panic jokes and other cheap punchlines, as seen in Get Hard (2015), Central Intelligence (2016), and CHiPs (2017). Other LGBTQ-inclusive releases from Warner Bros. include Alexander (2004), Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005), V For Vendetta (2005), J. Edgar (2011), Tammy (2014), Storks (2016), Crazy Rich Asians (2018), Isn’t It Romantic (2019), Birds of Prey (2020), and In the Heights (2021). Max’s previous LGBTQ-inclusive films include GLAAD Media Award nominees La Layenda Nedra (2020), Unpregnant (2020), and The Fallout (2022), as well as the documentaries LFG (2021), Eyes on the Prize: Hallowed Ground (2021), Call Me Miss Cleo (2022), and Santa Camp (2022).

OF THE 2 LGBTQ-INCLUSIVE FILMS,

2 WERE WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY

0 WERE MAX

Considering the quality, quantity, and diversity of films distributed under Warner Bros. Discovery and its labels, GLAAD has given Warner Bros. Discovery an POOR grade.

WARNER BROS.

Barbie

Widest Release: 4,337 Theaters

Vito Russo Test: FAIL

The Barbie movie did not feature any LGBTQ characters. There was an extended bit where two of the Kens threatened to “beach off” each other. There are also running jokes about the characters not having genitals because they are dolls. Earring Magic Ken, who was popularly thought of upon release as gay, was also in the film very briefly, but does not speak to confirm his sexuality. With these references, and a bevy of LGBTQ actors and themes surrounding gender norms, it is disappointing that queer people are absent from this movie.

The Color Purple

Widest Release: 3,218 Theaters

Vito Russo Test: PASS

The Color Purple One of the many adaptations of Alice Walker’s novel of the same name, The Color Purple is specifically an adaptation of the 2002 Broadway musical. The musical, as well as the book, portrays the relationship between protagonist Celie and singer Shug Avery as explicitly romantic. This film carries that relationship over as well, though it sadly cuts a few of their more significant romantic moments from the musical. Celie meets Shug as the lover of her abusive husband, Mister, but the two grow closer in their own right, eventually forming their own relationship. There is a brief scene where they kiss in a movie theater, and are clothed in bed together, but their physical intimacy could have definitely been expanded. There are further scenes and musical numbers in the musical that explore their romance that sadly were not included in this adaptation.

After the queerness was erased in the 1985 film version, it is exciting to see a big screen version of this story that shows Celie and Shug’s romance as explicit, though it still could have been explored to the degree of the musical. Overall, Black queer women are severely lacking, especially as main characters, so it was refreshing to see a Black queer woman at the center of this story.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods

Widest Release: 4,071 Theaters

Vito Russo Test: FAIL

The sequel to Shazam follows the group of super foster siblings from the first film who must team up to fight three goddess sisters who intend to destroy the world. One of the siblings is Pedro, who comes out as gay midway through the film. He is met with the sentiment that everyone already knew, and nothing but support. However, Pedro is a relatively minor role in the film, and his queerness is only explored during the coming out scene and when he is looking at a shirtless baseball player. While it’s a step in the right direction to have a young plus-size Latine queer superhero, it is disappointing that Pedro has no real bearing on the events of the film.

OPPORTUNITIES AHEAD

Warner Bros. Discovery has a number of upcoming projects with the potential to include LGBTQ characters. The Batman Part II will be released in 2026, and has the opportunity to confirm Catowman’s queerness, rather than just imply it like in the first film. Joker: Folie à Deux will feature bisexual singer and actress Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn, who is queer in the comics. The film will focus on the Joker/Harley relationship, but hopefully will acknowledge the character’s sexuality outside of that relationship. Warner Bros. is also working on an updated version of the Wizard of Oz that, according to the creator, is “unapologetically queer.” Upcoming 2025 film Companion features queer actors Lukas Gage and Harley Guillén, so there is potential for representation in the film. In March of 2024, Steven Spielberg announced that Ready Player Two was in development, which would likely see the return of Aech/Helen Harris, a lesbian character played by queer actor Lena Waithe. Warner Bros also has the rights to adapt When Katie Met Cassidy, in which Katie dumps her male fiance and discovers her sexuality through Cassidy, but there have been no updates on the film since 2020.

Max released Am I OK?, directed by married couple Tig Notaro and Stephanie Allyne, which follows a woman in her 30s who realizes she might be a lesbian. Max also previously announced The Parenting, which centers on a gay couple on a weekend getaway, but there have been no updates on the project since 2022. There has also been no news since 2021 on Camp, which was to be directed by Billy Porter and follow the campers at a camp for queer teens.

For the purposes of this study, GLAAD is counting theatrical films from Warner Bros., as well as films released by Warner’s Bros. Discovery’s streamer Max.

Summary of 2023 Findings

15

Total films released in 2023 under studio and official imprints

2

Total number of LGBTQ-inclusive films

13%

Percent of LGBTQ-inclusive films of studio total releases

1

Number of films that pass the Vito Russo Test

theatrical

13

Total theatrical films released in 2023 under studio and official imprints

2

Total number of theatrical LGBTQ inclusive films

15%

Percent of theatrical LGBTQ-inclusive films of studio theatrical releases

1

Number of theatrical films that pass the Vito Russo Test

streaming

2

Total streaming only films released in 2023 under studio and official imprints

0

Total number of streaming LGBTQ inclusive films

0%

Percent of LGBTQ-inclusive of studio total streaming releases

0

Number of streaming films that pass the Vito Russo Test

STUDIO RATING OVER TIME

2023

POOR

2022

INSUFFICIENT

2021

POOR

2020

N/A

2019

POOR

2018

INSUFFICIENT

2017

FAILING

2016

POOR

2015

FAILING

2014

GOOD

2013

FAILING

2012

ADEQUATE

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