Underwhelming BATMAN v SUPERMAN Leads to DC/Warner Bros. Shakeup
It’s been a busy few days on the DC Entertainment front. Hot on the heels of news that Supergirl is moving from CBS to the CW for its’ second season, comes news of a major reorganization of the barely-off-the-ground DC Cinematic Universe.
The Hollywood Reporter broke the story Tuesday. Prompted by less-than-inspiring financial and critical reaction to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, DC Entertainments’ Geoff Johns and Warner Bros. Executive Vice President Jon Berg will oversee a dedicated “DC Films” within Warner Bros.
The move comes as part of an overall reorganization that puts specific executives in charge of “genre streams”, all reporting to Warner Bros. Pictures president Greg Silverman.
A long time creative and executive presence at DC, Johns has also worked with Greg Berlanti to bring the so-called “Berlanti/Arrowverse” to life at The CW with shows including Arrow, The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow, along with the animated Vixen on the online CW Seed. At Warner Bros., Berg has worked with Ben Affleck on the movies Argo and the upcoming Live By Night, as well as involvement in Batman v Superman, Wonder Woman, Suicide Squad and Justice League.
The subpar performance of Batman V Superman, especially when compared to the critical and box office reaction to Captain America: Civil War was, according to The Hollywood Reporter article, “the flashpoint for the changes.” (This pun may be intended by article author Borys Kit. He later descries Ben Affleck’s addition to Justice League as a producer “upping his creative involvement when it comes to all things Batman and perhaps beyond” (emphasis mine).
Interestingly, the day after the DC Films news broke, Johns made some very interesting remarks at a meeting with reporters regarding the upcoming DC Comics Rebirth event. Johns didn’t speak directly to the news regarding Warner Bros., saying only (according to Vulture.com, “you can connect the dots.”)
What he did have to say specifically about Superman gives good indication of how he and Jon Berg will guide DC Films going forward. “I think people make a mistake when they say, “Superman’s not relatable because he’s so powerful…He’s a farmboy from Kansas who moves to the city and just wants to do the best he can with what he’s got.” Referring to the Rebirth event and DC Comics characters Johns also said, “There’s a lot of emotional underpinning of the characters…when it’s not there, you really feel that emptiness.”
Combining that focus on characters from Johns with the veteran studio leadership of Berg is, at the least, a good sign that Warner Bros. realizes what did not work with the inaugural movie in the DC Universe, and is taking steps to fix those issues sooner rather than later.
The Hollywood Reporter Heat Vision Blog
