'House Party' Reboot Possibly Won't Be Released Due to HBO Max Shakeup

By Daniel S. Levine

The LeBron James-produced remake of House Party has also been caught up in the HBO Max confusion. The movie, which features Jacob Latimore and Tosin Cole, was scheduled to be released on July 28, but it mysteriously never appeared. It is unknown if the film will ever be released.

House Party is a remake of Reginald Hudlin's 1990 comedy classic starring hip hop duo Kid 'n Play, centering on a high schooler's house party that gets out of control. Calmatic, who directed the music video for Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus' "Old Town Road," made his feature film debut. Stephen Glover (Atlanta) and Jamal Olori wrote the script. James and Maverick Carter of SpringHill produced the movie. HBO Max included a blink-and-you'll-miss-it shot in its December 2021 sizzle reel previewing 2022 content. Photos from the film were also released in May, although no full-length trailer surfaced.

The mysterious situation with House Party surfaced earlier today when Variety also reported that six Warner Bros. movies produced for HBO Max have disappeared. Moonshot, Superintelligence, The Witches, An American Pickle, Locked Down, and Charm City Kings have all been removed from the platform. The movies are now only available to rent through third-party VOD platforms.

On Tuesday, Warner Bros. Discovery stunned Hollywood and movie fans by scrapping Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt, even though both projects were almost done. Batgirl's budget reportedly reached $90 million, while the Scoob! sequel cost about $40 million. It all appears to be part of Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav's strategy shift to move Warner Bros. away from producing films for streaming. This is also a complete 180 from former Warner Bros. chief Jason Kilar's controversial decision to release the studio's 2021 movies on HBO Max the same day they hit theaters. Sources told Variety that Warner Bros. Discovery is expected to take a tax write-down to recoup costs.

"The decision to not release Batgirl reflects our leadership's strategic shift as it relates to the DC universe and HBO Max," a Warner Bros. spokesperson said late Tuesday to explain the move. "Leslie Grace is an incredibly talented actor and this decision is not a reflection of her performance. We are incredibly grateful to the filmmakers of Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt and their respective casts and we hope to collaborate with everyone again in the near future." Warner Bros. Discovery has not commented on the future of House Party.

Batgirl directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, who helmed Bad Boys For Life and episodes of Ms. Marvel, said they were "saddened and shocked" by Warner Bros. Discovery's decision to scrap the movie. "As directors, it is critical that our work be shown to audiences, and while the film was far from finished, we wish that fans all over the world would have had the opportunity to see and embrace the final film themselves," they wrote. "Maybe one day they will insha'Allah."

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