With the MCU as whole banking $10 Billion world wide, many people would be right it giving a lions share of the credit to Marvel Studio’s president Kevin Feige, the incredibly passionate and knowledgeable executive whose hand has steered the universe since it’s inception in 2008. With Warner Bros. beginning to set up their own DC Comics universe, the one lesson they didn’t take from Marvel was that, instead giving each individual director creative control over their particular property. It was an approach that may have worked in the very short term, but could lead to a dilution of the product as a whole down the line (some would argue that we’ve seen that happen already). Now, with the critical drubbing Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice received (coupled with the fact the movie fell short of the billion dollars they thought it would earn, grossing $870 million) still fresh in their minds, Warner Bros. seems to be undergoing an executive shake-up that could pay off for the DC Comics Extended Universe going forward with its own Feige at the helm.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, the studio has set DC Chief Creative Officer (and comic book writer extraordinaire, responsible for re-invigorating many of DC’s flagging titles) Geoff Johns and WB executive vice-president Jon Berg to co-run DC Films, with an eye to keeping the DCEU in check with one singular vision for the universe going forward. This is one step in the right direction for DC Films, and not the only it’s made recently, having named Ben Affleck as executive producer for Justice League and parted ways with first time director Seth Grahame-Smith on The Flash, looking for a more seasoned professional who can handle a large budget and put an authorial stamp on the project. Personally, this is something Warner Bros. should have had in place well before Man of Steel. Getting away from the whole “it’s what Marvel did”, the DCEU was always the end result with the movie, and something that big and sprawling (nine movies and counting) needs a guiding hand to keep it on track. Damage has already been done with BvS, but this course correction should see the planned universe get back on track. With characters like Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, and The Flash, it should have been nothing short of fantastic form the off. Hopefully, it’ll have that chance now.
This shake up seems to be line wide, with each of Warner Bros.’ “genre streams” receiving the same treatment. Courtney Valenti, Executive Vice President of Production, will oversee The LEGO Movie franchise and the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them trilogy, while senior production execs Jesse Ehrman and Niija Kuykendall will focus on Warner Bros.’ comedy/family and sci-fi/action films. A shake-up at the company has been rumoured for some time, and it’ll be interesting to see how this pays off in the future.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, the studio has set DC Chief Creative Officer (and comic book writer extraordinaire, responsible for re-invigorating many of DC’s flagging titles) Geoff Johns and WB executive vice-president Jon Berg to co-run DC Films, with an eye to keeping the DCEU in check with one singular vision for the universe going forward. This is one step in the right direction for DC Films, and not the only it’s made recently, having named Ben Affleck as executive producer for Justice League and parted ways with first time director Seth Grahame-Smith on The Flash, looking for a more seasoned professional who can handle a large budget and put an authorial stamp on the project. Personally, this is something Warner Bros. should have had in place well before Man of Steel. Getting away from the whole “it’s what Marvel did”, the DCEU was always the end result with the movie, and something that big and sprawling (nine movies and counting) needs a guiding hand to keep it on track. Damage has already been done with BvS, but this course correction should see the planned universe get back on track. With characters like Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, and The Flash, it should have been nothing short of fantastic form the off. Hopefully, it’ll have that chance now.
This shake up seems to be line wide, with each of Warner Bros.’ “genre streams” receiving the same treatment. Courtney Valenti, Executive Vice President of Production, will oversee The LEGO Movie franchise and the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them trilogy, while senior production execs Jesse Ehrman and Niija Kuykendall will focus on Warner Bros.’ comedy/family and sci-fi/action films. A shake-up at the company has been rumoured for some time, and it’ll be interesting to see how this pays off in the future.
