It looks like Warner Bros Discovery has found its "Kevin Feige" (two of them), to head a newly formed studio handling all the DC film, TV and animation projects. James Gunn and Peter Safran have been tapped as co-chairs and co-CEOs of a newly formed DC Studios. Reports from the major trade publications (which are all owned by Penske Media): Hollywood Reporter: DC Movies: James Gunn, Peter Safran to Lead Film, TV Division – The Hollywood Reporter Variety: James Gunn, Peter Safran to Lead DC Studios for Warner Bros. Discovery - Variety Deadline: James Gunn And Peter Safran Named DC Films Co-Chairmens & CEOs – Deadline
Now that Zaslav got his ducks in a row for a tax writeoff, he can let somebody else start taking the fall if future DC films tank. Nice work if you can get it. Still, I trust Gunn.
Note that James Gunn and Peter Safran worked together on Peacemaker, which I think was a fun (albeit uber-violent) HBOMax TV series. Lots and lots of fun... like Deadpool, only more so. I'll say this: they both dearly love comic books and superheros, so they're at least starting with the right attitude for the job. I think they're looking at making cool projects and sticking closely with the origins of the characters first, rather than just making a lot of money. I always thought that Kevin Feige at Marvel had that kind of spirit: he knows all those comic books backwards and forwards, and he's kept all their films and TV shows on an even keel, despite incredible odds.
Good luck to them. The DC universe has been on life-support for some time now, saved by Wonder Woman and a couple of other dark horses.
Well the Berlanti-verse has been very inconsistent in quality. I don't think the work environment a lot of the actors have complained about (not just under Kreisberg) couldn't have helped his cause either. His Batwoman series may have been almost as bungled a project as DCU's Batgirl. For what it's worth, I'm much more excited about this direction than if they had put Berlanti in charge of the DCU. Didn't I just read that Cavill is coming back as Superman, though? I hope the new administration makes a clean break from the cursed Snyder-verse.
(Worldwide Grosses) Aquaman = $1,148,528,393 Joker = (exists outside DCEU continuity) = $1,074,445,730 The Batman (exists outside DCEU continuity) = $770,836,163 That's a little bit better than life support! No telling what Wonder Woman 1984 would have made since it debuted on HBO Max. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom should make bank!
Batwoman was atrocious. You don't create a show set in the Bat-verse without Batman. It's a very basic rule. Batgirl was reportedly no better than a two-hour CW episode, so I'm not too surprised they nixed it. Sorry to hear you don't like Snyder. ZSJL was amazing, and Cavill is indeed back after being done dirty by the old regime. Pitches are being taken for the next standalone Superman film. It should be a doozy. I hope Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass; X-Men: First Class) directs it.
I’d call those first two dark horses. That’s what meant - they weren’t seen as a tent pole like a Batman or Superman.
Great news…I’ve been a DC guy all my life, but have been very disappointed in the quality of most of their films (Exceptions being the Nolan Batman Trilogy & Wonder Woman).
Things can only get better. I don't dislike 'dark' material but it just seems the DC universe is pretty depressing. It's like all of Batman's rogue gallery are now mostly sick serial killers, which makes for very dark material. Spider-man has a few like that but mostly they are thieves or something and don't cross that line of murdering people. You just feel in the DC universe Catwoman could get her throat cut at any moment or Nightwing could be shot by a sniper. I think they need to bring some light back into their world in general - the films, comics and tv. I did like that Justice League New Frontier stuff, that seemed to capture the awe and wonder in the DC universe. You can create serious material with stakes and still make it 'fun' I think. The comics are so dominated by the Batman family. I think recently it was the top 50 DC titles only had two non-Batman family titles, which says a lot about how much the tv and film side is really promoting the great characters they have. Back in the day I always saw Marvel as being a more street level thing usually and DC this more fun out-there cosmic thing. So my challenge to them would be create something fun to watch with stakes but not with people being murdered and maimed all the time.
One of the most insane cases of "failing upward" I've ever seen in Hollywood. These two men masterminded the single biggest DC box office bomb of all time, The Suicide Squad, and got a huge promotion for it. Peter Safran had three other DC movies in production under his name at the time of this promotion, Shazam 2, Blue Beetle and Aquaman 2. Shazam 2 and Blue Beetle proved to be two MORE of the lowest-grossing DC superhero films of all time, and more big money losers for the studio. These two people couldn't be less qualified for the job of running DC films. They've already steered the brand deep into box office disaster.
