DC Films president Walter Hamada will leave his position and the Warner Bros Discovery brand entirely after a 15-year stint with the production house.
Hollywood superboss Walter Hamada is leaving the Warner Bros. brand after 15 years as an executive and nearly four years as president of DC movies. Hamada is an award-winning producer and business magnate who has built his career in horror making. While serving as president of DC Films, the DC Extended Universe grew to 11 feature films with several other dynamic projects in production or coming soon, including Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam.
Hamada’s tenure as president of DC Films has been fraught with blows and falls. He took over after the famous dysfunctional Justice League film blew with audiences and critics alike. Allegations of toxicity against Justice League reshoot director Joss Whedon extended the administrative and legal crisis deep into Hamada’s tenure. But under Hamada’s leadership and executive production, the DC brand has produced 3 separate films that grossed over a billion dollars – Aquarius, jokerand Wonder Womanwith Matt Reeves’ the batter not far from nearly $800 million.
Deadline reported that Hamada’s departure from Warner Bros. is official and that the search for the next president of DC Films is underway. Warner Bros Discovery boss David Zaslav has reinvented the management team while serving as the company’s CEO, and Hamada is the fifth film executive to be shown the door. It has been reported that Zaslav is looking for a candidate who can match the success Kevin Feige has had with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, although there are few global talents quite like Feige. Hamada’s departure comes a year before his contract expires, leaving him on board DC Films until the end of 2023.
What does Hamada’s departure mean for the DCEU?
Hamada is leaving the DC brand in good shape with highly anticipated sequels to Robert Pattinson’s Batman and Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker. However, these movies exist outside of the traditional DCEU, which has yet to be fleshed out to catch up with Marvel. There was clearly a difference of opinion about the direction of the DCEU between Hamada, the top company, and the main stars of the DCEU. Hamada was not one of the forces behind the closing of the DCEUs batgirland he considered quitting after that the film was sunk despite being fully shot. As for talent, new DCEU frontman Dwayne Johnson reportedly went over Hamada’s head for a special, secret cameo in Black Adam.
The next 5 films in the DCEU are currently in post-production, but fans can’t assume that projects green-lit under Hamada will make it to the big screen. As can be seen from the batgirl fiasco, Warner Bros Discovery will not hesitate to pull the plug at the last minute. The next DC Films president has a big task ahead of him trying to live up to Zaslav’s expectations as he leaves the largely successful Hamada era. Black Adamwhich Hamada also executive produced will be the first film to come out of the gate for DC Films since his departure, arriving in theaters on October 21, 2022.
Source: Deadline
