IT, Conjuring Producer Becomes New DC Movies President

Following the box office disappointment of their latest feature, Justice League, Variety reports that Warner Bros. is in the process of shifting and restructuring their DC Films division. The outlet reveals that current head of DC Films, Jon Berg, will be shifted to a different position in the studio, working as a production partner alongside IT producer Roy Lee.

“This is something that Jon approached me about six months ago, and he expressed his goal was to ultimately be a producer at the studio,” Warner Bros. Pictures Group President Toby Emmerich told Variety. “I first met Jon when, as a producer, he brought ‘Elf’ to New Line, which remains one of the best and most evergreen titles in the library. We’re thrilled that Jon is partnering with Roy and anticipate their company being a valuable source of movies for Warner Bros. and New Line.”

A replacement for Berg is in the works and that person will continue to work alongside DC CCO Geoff Johns. The outlet also reports that Warner Bros. is considering moving their DC Films under their main production arm, making it no longer a separate division of the studio, similar to how the X-Men films are set up at 20th Century Fox and unlike Marvel Studios at Disney. Variety reports the overhaul of DC Films is expected to happen by January.

The decision for restructuring comes after Justice League has brought in just $572 million worldwide, making it the lowest grossing film in the DCEU by almost $100 million. Troubles on Justice League first began as an early cut of the film by Zack Snyder was screened for studio executives (which we now know DID feature the famous black suit for Superman) who were reportedly alarmed by its dark tone, which had been a major criticism of Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

WB reportedly doesn’t consider Justice League a failure, however, as it successfully introduced audiences to Ezra Miller’s The Flash and Jason Momoa’s Aquaman, both of which have their own films in the works. The Aquaman solo film is set to arrive in theaters on December 21, 2018 while The Flash movie will reportedly bring Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Ben Affleck’s Batman back together for an adaptation of the “Flashpoint” storyline. Affleck, however, is not expected to star in director Matt Reeves’ upcoming Batman feature film, which will reportedly have all-new talent.

There's a new head of DC Films at Warner Bros. and he's not who you might expect. Following the disappointment of Justice League, it was reported that the studio was going to shake things up a bit and restructure the way in which their DC movies are made. As part of that, they've decided to hire a new person to take charge of DC Films. It's being reported that Walter Hamada, producer of IT, is the man who's been tapped to take the reins on future DC movies.

Walter Hamada will serve as president of DC film production, replacing Jon Berg and Geoff Johns, who previously headed up the operation. The new report notes that Johns, a comic book writer turned studio head, will still be a key part of the operation as president and chief creative officer. He will reportedly "work closely" with Hamada in his new capacity. Here's what head of Warner Bros. Toby Emmerich had to say about the movie in a statement.

   "Walter is creative, resourceful, and committed to excellence, and will bring those qualities to his oversight of our superhero films. I'm confident Walter and Geoff, working with our filmmaking partners, will deliver films that will resonate with both broad global audiences as well as DC fanboys and fangirls."

The fact that there's a new head of DC Films at Warner Bros. isn't at all surprising. Wonder Woman may have been a massive critical and commercial success, but that's proved to be the outlier for the DCEU so far. Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad both made money at the box office, but were thrashed by critics. Justice League, which had the impossible task of following Wonder Woman, went through a troublesome and very expensive production, which resulted in lukewarm reviews and fan response. Most importantly, the movie has dramatically underperformed, bringing in just $651.1 million to date.

As for Walter Hamada? He's worked for the last decade at New Line, a division of Warner Bros., and has an outstanding track record as a producer there. He was a key figure in getting The Conjuring made and helped get the spin-offs, such as Annabelle: Creation, in motion. To date, The Conjuring movies have made more than $1 billion. He also was a key figure in getting the IT remake made, which was a massive critical success and outgrossed Justice League, bringing in $698 million worldwide. The big difference? That movie was made for $35 million. Hamada may not be as familiar with DC, but he's got an excellent track record.

It's said that Walter Hamada will oversee any comic book movies that Warner Bros. decides to make in the future, DC or otherwise. He also has a great relationship with Aquaman director James Wan. Variety reports that Courtenay Valenti, producer of the Harry Potter movies, will continue to serve as president of production at Warner Bros., in addition to Diane Nelson, who will still serve as DC Entertainment chief.

WyldeMan wrote:DC just put a guy in charge who's only handled $15 million budgets, that seems like a legit way to fix their massive problems.

Rusty wrote:Problem solved!!

Haha fucking clowns. Can't wait to see wait they make next.