John Oliver Critiques His Own Company’s DC Movies on ‘Last Week Tonight’

John Oliver cleverly linked a serious discussion about the U.S. Department of Justice to one of his own company’s major movie franchises.

In the latest episode of ‘Last Week Tonight’, Oliver addressed the Trump administration’s Justice Department, criticizing what he referred to as a series of unsuccessful legal efforts. After playing a clip of NBC News reporter Laura Jarrett questioning Todd Blanche, he seamlessly transitioned the segment into a humorous take on DC superhero movies.

Jarrett highlighted that several high-profile cases and investigations had stalled. She mentioned that indictments involving James Comey and Letitia James were dismissed, an investigation concerning Congressman Adam Schiff never materialized, and a grand jury opted not to indict six Democratic lawmakers. Additionally, she pointed out a judge dismissing a subpoena related to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

Blanche defended the department’s performance, stating, “It means that we’re working hard.” He insisted that the department would not shy away from challenging cases simply because they were unpopular in the media. Oliver, however, was not convinced.

“OK, first: No one’s accusing you of ‘running away’; they’re accusing you of losing,” he remarked. He followed up with an even sharper quip, suggesting that everyone believed the department had “ran cock-first as hard as you could straight into a brick wall.” This was the moment Oliver introduced the topic of DC movies.

“I didn’t realize the existence of repeated unsuccessful attempts was actually good news — that’s huge for DC movies, if true,” he joked, as the show displayed a montage of DC movie posters, including ‘Birds of Prey’, ‘The Flash’, ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’, ‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’, ‘Black Adam’, and ‘Supergirl’.

The humor struck a personal chord since Warner Bros. is part of the same corporate family as HBO, where ‘Last Week Tonight’ is broadcast.

Oliver’s choice to poke fun at DC movies comes at a particularly challenging time for the franchise. ‘Supergirl’, which he referenced, reportedly grossed around $126 million globally against a production budget exceeding $170 million, not including significant marketing expenses. Variety previously reported that the film could cost the studio up to $100 million.

This timing adds an extra layer of awkwardness for Warner Bros., especially as the company navigates uncertainty regarding its future ownership. The proposed acquisition by Paramount Skydance could potentially place the Ellison family in control of the studio.

For Oliver, the connection was straightforward. He utilized the DOJ’s string of failures to craft a joke about another set of costly projects that have struggled to achieve consistent success.

This moment exemplifies why Oliver often blends serious political commentary with unexpected pop-culture references. He can delve into government investigations for several minutes before pivoting to a punchline about superheroes.

And this time, the humor resonated particularly well.

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