Amid the merger turmoil, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) is betting big on director Matt Reeves to replace Zack Snyder in the DCEU.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is widely considered one of the greatest cinematic accomplishments of the last twenty-odd years, and features a whole slew of different films, focusing on different heroes with different plots that are somehow all still interconnected into one giant and coherent whole. Creating a model that many rival studios are now trying to emulate, The Numbers reports that the MCU has made more than $27 billion as of August this year.
Much of the success is attributed to the singular vision of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s ‘ringleader’, producer Kevin Feige. His job at Marvel studios has made him one of the highest-grossing producers of all time, especially as the proverbial captain who steers the Marvel ship in one coherent direction.
As one of their main rivals, DC has always lacked such an influential master or overarching vision that keeps their movies connected but has long attempted to catch up to the success of the MCU, struggling to produce the same results.
The DCEU
The DC Extended Universe was DC’s attempt at creating a universe that was interconnected and linear, but their universe is in a rather precarious situation at present. The controversies surrounding the DCEU started with the director that arguably incepted the universe, as Zack Snyder’s fan army nearly broke the internet for more of his DCEU movies.
Followed by the many controversial decisions surrounding the merger between Warner Bros. and Discovery Group, as well as actors within the DCEU such as Amber Heard and Ezra Miller who find themselves on the wrong side of the law and in courtrooms, the DCEU seems in a dangerous situation.
It was announced that DC would be creating and following a 10-year plan similar to that of the MCU, and it seems they have come up with another plan for the production of their movies and shows – and that is doubling down on one of their most recent successful directors.
Save Us
According to Deadline, WBD and DC have inked a deal and managed to scoop up both Matt Reeves and his production company 6th & Idaho. It’s no surprise that they wanted to snag Reeves after the critical and financial hit of his Robert Pattinson version of Batman, making it one of their most bankable assets at present.
Along with hiring the director, WBD CEO David Zaslav has hired Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy to fill a similar role to that of Kevin Feige over at Marvel, and steer the film division of WBD in one coherent direction.
When Deadline asked De Luca what he thought about the decision to strike a deal with Reeves, he had this to say:
“We were excited to nail down his overall deal because it’s a cornerstone of what we want to do with the filmmakers that are working at the studio. We want to create an atmosphere where all of these filmmakers can excel and do their work and stay within us once they are inside the Warners family. Keeping Matt and creating a home for him to do more projects in the Batman universe but also original,s was very important to us.”
This appears to be a sign that the DCEU will be taking a new direction under the guidance of the break-out director, or at the very least that we can expect plenty more Batman-inspired entertainment coming out of the studio.