DC Studios THREAD - GunnVerse Begins - The Penguin out 9/19 then every Sunday on MAX

[water runs dry]

Just makes me even more hyped for WW84!

 

[everysingletime]

Makes no difference.

I agree!

 

[rfx45]

 

[rfx45]

 

[Nike Jordan]

I wanna Cavill on the set with a mustache.

 

[paulwest1985]

Damn you know things are bad when paulwest admits that the dceu has no plan.

WB has absolutely no idea what they are doing. All they did was shuffle a few people around in leadership positions, but in the end nothing changes. The idiot that mandated that JL be under 2 hours is still the president.

 

[rfx45]

a lot has actually changed and the president for the company in charge of DC has changed and Geoffs exit is pretty big

And after a series of stumbles, the studio is looking to Walter Hamada to steer DC in the right direction.

Hamada, who was named president of DC Entertainment-based film production at Warner Bros. in January, will have to figure out its future. This includes sorting out the DCEU films and giving its much darker ones a new banner. More on the story below.


According to THR, Hamada’s hiring came after a series of changes to the DC film staff. That shakeup included Jon Berg’s exit as co-president of DC live-action movie operations. That was followed by Diane Nelson, who’s been on leave, not returning as president. And just this week, Geoff Johns left his post as president. While all three still have positions at WB, Hamada is the only person overseeing DC films.

Now the big question is, how will the DCEU and the untitled darker DC universe look under Hamada’s leadership? Well, the man behind The Conjuring films has his work cut out for him. “He walked into a ****show, and he’s trying to clean it up,” says one insider familiar with the scene.

Though it’s a rough road ahead, Hamada is already hard at work looking at projects that are currently in development. He’s also turning his attention to culling certain ones, elevating others, keeping an eye on the big marquee heroes while also developing lesser-known characters that could pop big. James Wan’s Aquaman is the studio’s only DCEU film to be released this year.

However, audiences have two titles to look forward to next year. Shazam! and the Wonder Woman sequel – which started production earlier this week. Another title that could bring good fortune to Warner Bros. is The Flash, which will abandon the somber themes it had been expected to tackle. Based on previous reports and rumors, the film would be based on “Flashpoint,” a time-traveling story arc that saw Flash dealing with the fallout of changing the past when he traveled through time to stop his mom from being murdered. It’s said that Game Night team of John Francis Daly and Jonathan Goldstein are looking to Back to the Future as a touchstone.

While Ezra Miller, Gal Gadot, and Jason Momoa are locked to their respective heroes, it looks like Ben Affleck‘s tenure as Batman may be over. THR says Matt Reeves‘ Batman will have a much younger person donning the cape and cowl, which may mean that Affleck is getting his wish to not play Batman.

As exciting as that sounds, DCEU will continue to develop their films on Batman’s rogues and supporting heroes. First, there’s the Harley Quinn/Birds of Prey film directed by Cathy Yan. And then there’s the Batgirl spinoff which is being written by Bumblebee screenwriter Christina Hodson.

But as for those two Joker films, that sounds a lot more promising. Which is very surprising. Jared Leto‘s Joker standalone is currently under development and could help launch a Suicide Squad universe. Meanwhile, the Joker origins film being directed by Todd Phillips and possibly starring Joaquin Phoneix, launched under a new label that could be branded with a name like “DC Dark” or “DC Black.”

The best thing about these shakeups is that Hamada doesn’t want to have a writers room. Paramount and Hasbro with their toy-based properties, Universal with its monster universe, and Legendary with its creature features have all assembled a writers room in the past. However, that strategy has produced mixed results.

Another thing that Hamada will no longer do is date upcoming titles in advance. That strategy has also hurt the studio in more ways than one. But these bold new moves are a breath of fresh air for the studio. “Walter has a specific design for the universe,” tells an insider to THR. “He has a plan.”

We will just have to see if Hamanda’s plan works out. Otherwise, it might be back to the drawing board for WB. Of course, we will keep you posted should any new developments come in.

**** is going down at WB and the DCEU.

On Monday, The Hollywood Reporter broke the story that DCEU lead Geoff Johns is going to be moving away from the superhero extended universe and into his own producing contract with the studio. Slipping into his shoes as DC Entertainment's film President is Walter Hamada, who helped oversee a string of horror hits at New Line with The Conjuring series. It goes without saying - especially after the Justice League production/box office debacle/disappointment, that Hamada has inherited a disaster zone, and now has to clean it all up.

In a new article over at The Hollywood Reporter's Heat Vision blog, it sounds like the new Prez has been doing quite a bit of research:

"According to insiders, Hamada has spent months going over the projects in development, culling certain ones, elevating others, keeping an eye on the big marquee heroes while also developing lesser-known characters that could pop big."

There's only one entry into the DCEU hitting for the rest of 2018 - James Wan's Aquaman - before Shazam! and then Wonder Woman 2 (which the report also notes just went in front of cameras today). After that, the slate is essentially clean, with a few projects in development, but not 100% quite ready to roll.

The most obvious question is: will there still be two Joker movies or not? We've made a ton of jokes about the dueling takes on the clown prince of crime - one from supposed filmmaker Todd Phillips (inexplicably starring actual artist Joaquin Phoenix and backed by the GOAT Martin Scorsese), and another showcasing Jared Leto, in a spin-off on the character from popular cinematic turd, Suicide Squad.

It actually sounds like Phillips' Joker project has somehow found a way to push forward first, as Heat Vision notes it is:

"...expected to begin shooting in the fall, is budgeted at about $55 million, a fraction of most superhero pics, and may be launched under a new label that could be branded with a name like "DC Dark" or "DC Black."

While the budget and start date make Phillips' movie appear like it's all but a lock, the proposed "DC Dark"/"DC Black" label sounds like the "New Coke" of the superhero cinema world. Essentially, the label on the bottle may have changed, but it's still the same trash sugar water that will give you a disease that you'll end up losing a leg to.

However, the DCEU (if it still likes to be identified as such following this change-over) might be offering up a sort of "taster's challenge" for their audience, as the proposed Flash movie (which is no longer titled Flashpoint, apparently) is being helmed by Game Night directors John Francis Daly and Jonathan Goldstein, who are "looking to Back to the Future as a touchstone". Anybody who saw Game Night (which, as Andrew pointed out during our "Best of the Year Thus Far" Picks list) knows that it's one of the best studio comedies in ages, directed with an assured, slick eye, where the jokes are actually structured into the narrative, as opposed to just being a collection of long takes filled with obnoxious ad-libbing.

There's also going to a collection of female-focused projects following the overwhelming success of Wonder Woman. Margot Robbie - whose Harley Quinn has become one of the few bright spots to come out of David Ayer's otherwise putrid Suicide Squad - is going to lend her now Oscar-nominated talents to that character again, headlining Birds of Prey from director Cathy Yan (whose Dead Pigs Evan was a fan of at this year's Sundance). Meanwhile, though Batgirl lost Joss Whedon in February, it gained a screenwriter in Bumblebee's Christina Hodson. So, the studio's putting smart, talented women in to try and direct the IPs that require their worldview, which is great news.

But what the ****'s up with Batman? There have been rumors circulating that Ben Affleck is out for a while now, and his signing to make another movie with apparent Suicide Squad 2 director Gavin O'Connor makes you wonder if either are going to remain at the DCEU. Well, HV makes it sound like Reeves is putting the Batfleck debate to bed, as the writer/director just turned in the first act of a new script over Memorial Day Weekend, which is said to revolve around a "young caped crusader" (blech), which will obviously no longer involve the aging, samurai-tattooed Affleck anymore if true. No word on whether or not The Penguin will be involved (which was the rumor before), as the studio refused comment on the situation.

Here's the thing: it sounds like the projects where creators are potentially rebooting characters (Phillips' Joker, time travel Flash, Reeves' Yung Batman) are about equal in number to the spin-offs using pre-existing talent (Wonder Woman 2, Birds of Prey, Leto's Joker), with Aquaman being sort of a strange outlier (as Momoa was obviously in previous movies, but never under Wan's direction). One could picture WB and DC continuing to test with waters with each approach until audiences make them decide which direction to go - continue the old DCEU, or blow it all up and start again - simply by voting with their dollars. Honestly, that seems highly unlikely, at least in terms of having two Joker movies, as even those of us who follow this poppy cinema for a living get confused by their conflicting existences.

On a purely personal front, this writer hopes that WB/DC hits the big red "Reset" button and let some new artists become Nolanesque grandfathers of specific franchises, possibly without relying on the Extended Universe model that Marvel has mastered (though that too seems unlikely, given Hamada's success with The Conjuring, and the general affection for the business trend studios share). Reeves already proved he could craft one of the greatest reboots of all time with his two Planet of the Apes sequels (which still stands as a miracle of modern mainstream entertainment), while Goldstein and Daley had a hand penning one of the best Spider-Man entries with Homecoming. So, the pieces seem to be in place, and Hamada just has to figure out now how to cannily position them in order to create a commercially and critically successful puzzle.

 

[Master Zik]

Hope things begin to pan out and look for DC in 2019 cuz all those **** announcements and crap rumorsand worst of all leaks where it just seems they dont know what the **** theyre doing is saddening.

 

[noblekane]

too bad there aint no property trading in showbiz

wb trade dc rights to disney for star wars rights

atleast dc could be salvaged by the mouse with reboots

star wars dead

 

[everysingletime]

too bad there aint no property trading in showbiz

wb trade dc rights to disney for star wars rights

atleast dc could be salvaged by the mouse with reboots

star wars dead

Lmao yo I'd love Disney to trade star wars for DC actually

I know you are a big star wars head. But I'd rather have dc than star wars

 

[finessesosa]

Anybody watching krypton?

Just finished it up and it was great

 

[Master Zik]

I would not want to imagine WB with Star Wars.

At best George is still in control, at worst

But when I think about it, yeah, I'd prefer good DC movies @ Disney.

 

[Nike Jordan]

At best George is still in control, at worst

George Lucas was never going to make another Star Wars film.

 

[Master Zik]

George Lucas was never going to make another Star Wars film.

Eh, I was never sure of that (given I'm sure he could change his mind with the right friends supoorting and convincing him) but George not directing and doing what KK is doing now are two different things.

 

[rfx45]

cheetah

 

[rfx45]

 

[...So]

.

 

[...So]

.

 

[kickvicisous]

Off topic but James Wan related...

Waiting to hear from a bigger outlet but this is interesting...

Who the **** are those people in photo? How is Raiden and Scorpoin picture not up their?

 

[tay1]

Off topic but James Wan related...

Waiting to hear from a bigger outlet but this is interesting...

Whoever owns Mortal Kombat has dropped the all dramatically. I dont think the franchise is popular enough in todays time.

 

[dhart48]

Yeah I'd watch Mortal Kombat, but it wouldn't be in theaters that's for sure, definitely a network tv release while I clean.
Would want Wan to develop more original work in between Aquaman films(assuming he'd come back or is signed for more)
Like Nolan did with the Batman trilogy

 

[...So]

.

 

[rfx45]

didn't the current MK games sell well?

 

[Mark Antony]

The level of MK hype was insane back then though. So much so I loved those trash *** movies.

 

[water runs dry]

I think those 3 pictured are Jax, Johnny Cage, and Sonya Blade.