First the new bosses must ”win over all the other filmmakers“ working there, one insider says
Dwayne “The Rock”Johnson was telling his DC movie fans about the opening “Black Adam”: The hierarchy has been changed.
Warner Bros. made this a significant statement. Discovery CEO David Zaslav following the exit of Walter Hamada this month, showing Hollywood and DC’s passionate fan base that he’s serious about revitalizing the DC onscreen universe that has mostly dwelled in the shadow of Disney’s Marvel hit factory.
Safran and Gunn will oversee all theatrical movies, TV series, and animated shows that feature the DC Universe heroes. This gives them a huge power base in blockbuster films. Producers and agents said that this move would not only change DC’s hierarchy but also allow the franchise to realize the potential it has.
There’s still much to do. ”It’s logically and objectively what makes the most sense,” a top agent told . “Safran has been a trusted big film/DC producer for a long time. And Gunn can be the creative one.”
In Safran, DC gets a producer who has created hit films at multiple budget levels and has experience building a franchise and a cinematic universe alongside a creative mind like Gunn’s. At Warner’s New Line division, Safran worked closely with director James Wan to turn “The Conjuring”In a series that has made $2 billion worldwide, from spinoffs and direct sequels. “Annabelle”And “The Nun.”He has also produced several DC films, such as “Shazam!”And “Aquaman” — both of which will get sequels next year.
Gunn is DC’s most valuable creative mind, aside from Marvel chief Kevin Feige. While Gunn didn’t have Feige’s job of binding all the different threads of the MCU into an overarching narrative — experience that the Warner Bros. Discovery CEO reportedly tried to find in his search but failed — Gunn has become known in Hollywood and among fans for using his extensive knowledge of comic book mythology to find the most obscure DC and Marvel heroes and make them memorable — notably in Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise and DC’s “The Suicide Squad.”
According to a Warner insider, meetings with the other major creative minds at DC will be the first order for the new chiefs. They will be working on sequels of their hit comic books films. These include “Joker”Director Todd Phillips “The Batman” director Matt Reeves, who have produced two of DC’s biggest recent hits with a darker style that, while far different from Gunn’s, is rooted in the same auteur-driven approach to interpreting comic book characters.
There’s also the question of how Gunn and Safran’s approach will mesh with the vision of “Black Adam”Dwayne Johnson is a star who has been promoting his new movie and selling his ideas for DC Universe. The Safran-produced “Shazam!”Johnson and Johnson filmed a deleted scene teasing the arrival Black Adam in a possible sequel. “Black Adam”Hiram Garcia and Dany Garcia, producers, asked the studio for help in moving the antihero from his comic-book rival.
“Safran needs to win over all the other filmmakers,”The Warner insider stated. “And Dwayne Johnson’s thinly veiled disdain for ‘Shazam’ means he probably isn’t loving the idea that his boss is now the guy that produces ‘Shazam.’ Safran is pretty diplomatic, so I think he will pull it off but it won’t be easy.”
Another complication is Gunn’s remaining work on Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,”It is currently in postproduction and will be released in May. While Safran, who’s already on the Warner lot, will be able to hit the ground running when he officially starts in his new duties on Nov. 1, Gunn has several more months of editing and effects work to complete this winter, followed by press tours in the spring.
And then there’s the question of how Gunn and Safran’s DC, in whatever form it takes, fits into the current finance-driven strategy that Warner Bros. Since last spring’s $43 billion merger, Discovery has been adopting a variety of strategies. WBD reported Monday that it would write off up to $2.5B worth of TV and film programming, including the $90 million canceled HBO Max. “Batgirl”Movie, to drastically reduce costs
It was at the time “Batgirl” was scuttled, studio insiders said that Zaslav envisioned DC films as big-screen blockbusters of the highest order rather than streaming films, so it’s still possible that Warner will spare no expense when it comes to making films with Batman and Superman.
Safran can deliver if the company needs to set a budget limit for a less well-known hero. 2019’s “Shazam!”The film was a financial and critical success, even though it was produced on a reported $100million budget. That’s half of what “Black Adam”And “The Batman” cost. This could give DC the flexibility it needs to remain profitable as it takes risks on more obscure characters the way Gunn did with the likes of Polka Dot Man and Peacemaker in 2021’s “The Suicide Squad.”
With so many DC projects in production or active development, we will likely wait at least one year before we see Gunn and Safran make their mark. Gunn will have until 2023 to explore the DC canon and find characters and stories that he can adapt. Safran will also be able to find writers and directors to work with them, while films from the past regime are being rolled out. “Shazam: Fury of the Gods”In March, followed closely by “The Flash”June “Blue Beetle”In August “Aquaman 2”At Christmas 2023.
