In June 2018, AT&T purchased Time Warner Inc. for $85.4 billion

It canceled some projects that were in production, the most high-profile example being Batgirl, a DC Comics film exclusive to HBO Max.

Then last week in a letter, four lawmakers—Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D–Mass.) and Reps. Joaquin Castro (D–Texas), David Cicilline (D–R.I.), and Pramila Jayapal (D–Wash.)—asked the DOJ to reconsider its earlier decision to approve the merger.

While the letter stops short of calling for the DOJ to unwind the merger, it does ask that the government "take another look at the transaction" in light of Warner's business decisions.

Umm, what? What is this, some kind of 30th trimester abortion? You can't undo regulatory approval for a merger years later. As soon as the green light is given, it's over. There are no "takebacks".

As for Batgirl, the lawmakers are on even shakier ground. Castro told the Los Angeles Times, "If there had been no merger, that movie would have ended up going to theaters and on the streaming platforms." But the movie was always intended to be a streaming exclusive.

And even if Warner decided to switch gears and release Batgirl in theaters, the cost to get it to that point would be considerable: In its current form, the film tested poorly, with audiences likening it to "a bad TV show." So even after spending millions more to get the film up to theater quality, Variety estimated that it would have cost the studio between $30 million and $50 million to market it domestically, plus tens of millions more for international marketing.

Hence why it was canceled. It's still very possible for a bad enough money to not make back its marketing budget or other costs associated with putting it to market.