Warner Bros. announces new executives for the newly named DC Studios in a surprising move that marks the DCEU. Now formally known as Warner Bros. Discovery, the famed production company originally started in 1923 and has grown exponentially over the years to become one of the largest entertainment giants in the world. Today it is home to several divisions such as New Line Cinemas, Warner Bros. Television Group and Warner Bros. Pictures.
DC Films, in turn, has had many successful projects and is responsible for several hits in the superhero film genre in recent years, such as Wonder Woman, Aquarius, and, most recently, Black Adam. After the merger with Warner Bros. However, Discovery’s leadership of DC Films was questioned. New CEO David Zaslav arrived with big changes for Warner Bros.’ DC affiliate and former boss Walter Hamada left the studio last week. The search for the new head of DC Films had made many curious about where the WB division would go.
The answer to that particular quest came as a complete surprise. According to The Hollywood Reporter, filmmaker James Gunn and producer Peter Safran will co-chair and co-CEO at DC Studios, a newly formed division that will include film, television and animated DC projects. While Safran will focus on the business and production side, Gunn will lead the creative area. Reporting directly to Zaslav, Safran and Gunn work alongside Warners’ film heads Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy. Sources say their deal will last four years and that Gunn will be a DC exclusive, most likely ending the filmmaker’s relationship with Marvel Studios for now. Here’s what Zaslav had to say about the new executives:
DC features one of the most entertaining, powerful and iconic characters in the world, and I’m excited that James and Peter’s unique and complementary talents will join our world-class team and oversee the creative direction of the legendary DC Universe. Their decades of filmmaking experience, close ties to the creative community and proven track record of exciting superhero fans around the world make them uniquely qualified to develop a long-term strategy for film, TV and animation and bring this iconic franchise to the next level of creative storytelling.
How DC Studios will shape the future of the DCEU
Unlike the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the DC Extended Universe has movies set in separate creative universes. One of the following DC projects to go into production later this year is: Joker: Folie à Deux, and that will not be controlled by Gunn and Safran. Instead, this project is led by De Luca and Abdy. Director Matt Reeves also has projects that will likely be based on: the batter universe, but it is still unclear where they will land. Any other DC project must be led by the new executives. This should ensure that the DCEU will have a connected tone and story going forward. In recent years, the franchise has become more loose, but the creation of DC Studios suggests that Warner Bros. to bring the DCEU back together.
It is important to note that both Gunn and Safran have experience in the comic book world and have previously worked on several successful comic book based projects. Safran has been with Warner Bros. for over ten years. and was producer of films like Aquarius, which garnered box office numbers of over $1 billion worldwide. Gunn, in turn, is the mind behind the MCU’s hit Guardians of the Universe franchise and DCs The suicide squad, so it’s safe to say that the newly formed DC Studios and the DCEU are in good hands.
Source: THR
