Thus far, Warner Brothers Studios has not had an excellent track record regarding stability and strategy regarding their interconnected universes. It is no secret that, unlike Marvel, DC studios have not been as successful. And the problem lies in the fact that they have simultaneously not been as consistent. Therefore, it is not surprising that James Gunn and Peter Saffron were not the first choices for the co-CEO positions of DC Studios. In fact, based on recent news, they were not the second choices or third choices either. Rumours suggest that Warner Bros. begged Todd Phillips to run DC Studios.
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Following the recent announcement that Henry Cavill would no longer be reprising his role as Superman, it only went downhill for Warner Bros.
James Gunn and Peter Safran, the new co-CEOs of DC Studios, announced an array of changes they will make to the already-established DCEU. And then went on to say they have a ten-year plan they would like to follow to create a new universe. But, they were not the first choices for the positions.
Inside Information Reveals The Reason Behind James Gunn
Recently, The New York Post reported an update that did not come as a surprise to onlookers. According to an industry source, Gunn and Safran were not the initial people who wanted to run DC Studios. Instead, Warner Bros. Discovery approached multiple people, many of whom turned down the role. But, again, this is not shocking; for example, they could end up in the same positions as Zack Snyder, whose vision was discarded upon his exit. Or, even worse, Henry Cavill, who played a prominent role in the DCEU and was let go due to questionable leadership decisions.
Based on the instability and possible blow to their careers Warner Bros could give, it would be ridiculous to expect anyone to sign on. Therefore, when Todd Phillips, director of 2019’s Joker (one of the more popular DC standalone films), was approached by Warner Bros to take on the role as head of DC Studios, he was hesitant. The report says that the studio begged him to take the position, which he declined.
What do fans think about Todd Phillips running DC Studios?
There is mixed reception from fans upon finding out about this update. Many fans argued that there was no need to bring in someone new and that Zack Snyder would have done an excellent job establishing a concrete universe. However, other DC fans believe Phillips would have been an even worse choice to fill the role than Gunn and Safran. This stems from the overall reception to his movies and the fact that Joker (2019) was a standalone film with no room for an extension into the DCEU. And then some fans think that every decision made by Warner Bros thus far has been wrong.
David Zaslav on Warner Bros and DC instability
The president and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery had his view on what will become of the DCEU. Back in 2021, Zaslav offered his take on what should become of the studio and its inability to pick a lane. He stated that he wanted to take a similar approach to that of Marvel and the MCU with the DCEU. On its own, this already proves impossible with the current plan to rewrite the universe. Furthermore, Zaslav revealed his desire to find a Kevin Feige of his own to right the wrongs of the past few years.
However, Zaslav should probably be focusing on fixing the mistakes made this year alone, as they will be more detrimental to the studio in the future. Snyder’s vision was one people actually wanted to see.
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