Warner Bros. will be coming up with a 10-year strategy for its DC slate in the near future similar to that of Disney’s Marvel Studios’ successful timelines.
The Warner Bros. Discovery Q2 earnings call took place on Thursday. CEO David Zaslav was asked about the cancellation of “Batgirl” when the movie was nearly complete, and his plans on taking the DC Universe forward, on which he replied:
Our ambition is to bring Warner back and to produce great, high-quality films. As we look at the opportunities that we have, broadly, DC is one of the top of the list for us.
According to Zaslav characters like Batman, Wonder Woman, Superman, and Aquaman are DC’s biggest weapons due to their popularity and hence, offer a “big opportunity” for the company.
He said:
We have done a reset. We’ve restructured the business where there will be a team with a 10-year plan focusing just on DC. It’s very similar to the structure that Alan Horn and Bob Iger put together very effectively with Kevin Feige at Disney.
@LightsCameraPod informed its followers on Twitter:
Warner Bros. Discovery president David Zaslav says that they are creating a 10-year plan for DC films, focusing on quality.
He cites Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige's work as an inspiration pic.twitter.com/Ughtd5rvPK
— MovieRankings.net (@LightsCameraPod) August 4, 2022
Over the past decade, Marvel Studios has successfully rolled out multiple theatrical hits. Three films are currently in the top 10 highest-grossing movies of all time. In fact, at one point, “Avengers Endgame” was crowned the highest-grossing movie of all time.
On the other hand, DC’s highest-grossing film was Aquaman (2018) which ranked only 25th on the list.
Zaslav added:
We think that we could build a long-term, much stronger, sustainable growth business out of DC. And as part of that, we’re gonna focus on quality. We’re not gonna release any film before it’s ready. We’re not gonna release a film to make a quarter. The focus is gonna be, ‘How do we make each of these films, in general, as good as possible?
Matt Ramos, a well known journalist endorses Zaslav’s plans on his Twitter handle:
Warner Bros. Discovery is saying all of the right things regarding DC:
• They have an entire team dedicated to building a 10 year plan.
• They are modeling their plan to build DC the way Feige built Marvel.
• They are prioritizing quality > quantity.Now it’s about action!
— Matt Ramos (@therealsupes) August 4, 2022
Just recently, Warner Bros. Discovery hired Walt Disney Studios’ former chairman Alan Horn in a consulting role.
Prior to Horn’s decade-long tenure, he ensured the success of the “Harry Potter” franchise along with “The Dark Knight” trilogy.
Alan Horn most likely will support Warner Bros. in its DC strategy.
@TheNerdRagePod informs Twitteratis about Alan Horn’s recent involvement with Warner Bros. Discovery:
Breaking News!
Former Warner Brothers COO and Disney CCO Alan Horn is returning as a senior advisor to the new team at Warner Bros Discovery! #WBD pic.twitter.com/Z8izt5YIY3— The Nerd Rage Podcast (@TheNerdRagePod) July 28, 2022
Zaslav went on to say that “DC is something that we think we could make better and we’re focused on it now.”
He said they’ll be releasing Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s “Black Adam,” “The Flash,” and the sequel for “Shazam.”
Although Zaslav didn’t mention “Batgirl” in particular, he did mention that after thoroughly going through how-to-direct streaming movies, the conclusion he reached was that there “is no comparison to what happens when you launch a film in the theaters.”
Keeping Zaslav said:
This idea of expensive films going direct to streaming, we cannot find an economic case for it. We can’t find an economic value for it. So we’re making a strategic shift. We’ve been out in the town talking about our commitment to the theatrical exhibition and the theatrical window.
He also added:
The objective is to grow the DC brand, to grow the DC characters, but also, our job is to protect the DC brand and that’s what we’re gonna do.
“Batgirl” cost nearly $90 million for the production house.
Warner Bros. has released DC films that have seemed more singular and disparate than united. For instance, the sequel for “Joker” set for release in 2024 featuring Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga, isn’t connected to any of the other movies in the DC universe.
Hopefully, Warner Bros. Discovery will correct its course after the reset and its future releases.