Following Discovery’s merger with WarnerMedia earlier this month, the company, now called Warner Bros. Discovery, is reportedly looking to reshape the future of its DC Entertainment output.
Per Variety, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav is looking to retool DC Entertainment into its “own solidified content vertical,” according to sources close to the company. If the company does, in fact, go ahead with such a change, it could have a big impact on DC’s feature films, its slate of TV series, and DC’s comics division.
According to Variety’s report, Zaslav wants to have all of DC’s separate properties more aligned, similar to Marvel’s interconnected, well-oiled machine.
So it makes perfect sense that in order to achieve that goal, Discovery wants to hire someone analogous to Marvel’s head honcho Kevin Feige. The CRO reportedly spoke with numerous candidates to fulfill that role, including former 20th Century Studios and Paramount executive Emma Watts, who turned it down.
And while Feige is heavily involved in the MCU’s creative, sources told Variety that Discovery is looking for someone with business credentials first and foremost. A big reason for the search, per the report, is the company’s belief that major DC properties like Superman have remained stagnant for far too long, and that secondary characters like the Joker should get more shine, as evidenced by the success of the Todd Phillips film.
It’s unclear how any of these changes might impact DC’s more immediate slate of content, including sequels to Shazam!, Aquaman, and Wonder Woman. Additionally, there’s the forthcoming The Flash standalone film, and the Dwayne Johnson-starring Black Adam. As for TV shows, DC currently has ten ongoing shows based on its properties, including The Suicide Squad spinoff Peacemaker.
While DC’s attempt at an extended universe have provided inconsistent results, both critically and commercially, many of its properties have fared better since Walter Hamada took over DC Films in 2018. Under him, DC has released Joker, Shazam!, and The Batman, all of which performed well at the box office and garnered mostly positive responses from audiences and critics alike.
