After the divisive reception of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Warner Bros. Pictures made moves to stabilize the direction of the DC Extended Universe. The studio reorganized in May 2016 to have genre-responsible film executives, thus DC Entertainment franchise films under Warner Bros. were placed under a newly created division, DC Films, created under Warner Bros. executive vice president Jon Berg and DC Comics chief content officer Geoff Johns. This was done in hopes of competing more directly with Marvel Studios' Marvel Cinematic Universe. Johns also kept his existing role at DC Comics.[4][5] However, the division's formation was not designed to override the "director-driven" mandate.[4]
Justice League had one of the biggest film budgets (nearly $300 million) but grossed about $96 million in its opening weekend. An analysis in The Washington Post expected that there would be a course correction again, with a possible change in leadership.[6] The DC Extended Universe operated under a "director-driven" mandate.[4]Forbes contributors felt that the course correction would be for DC Films to give up on the shared universe, while continuing with the Wonder Woman films and occasionally other films, as Warner Bros. has other franchises they can work with.[7] Despite this, in December the studio reiterated their current film slate for the unofficially titled DC Extended Universe.[8] That same month, Warner Bros. announced that a new strategy and organization of DC Films would occur with Berg leaving his position as studio's co-president of production to form a Warner Bros.-based production company with Roy Lee, the producer of The LEGO Movie and It. In January 2018, Warner Bros. executive Walter Hamada was appointed as new president of DC Films, to oversee the films in the DC Extended Universe. Hamada has been closely associated with New Line Cinema, and helped develop horror films, such as It and The Conjuring film franchises.[9]
In May 2022, it was announced that Toby Emmerich would step down as the head of the Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, and that the group will be restructured to give DC Films, Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema, and Warner Animation Group their own bespoke leadership. After Emmerich transitions from his previous role, former MGM executives Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy will become the co-executives of Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema, but will temporarily oversee the remaining units until their new positions are filled. Hamada is expected to report to Luca and Abdy, though it was noted his future at DC Films remained unclear after the restructuring.[11]
Management
Current
Walter Hamada (January 2018—present):[9] President, DC-Based Film Production at Warner Bros. Pictures[3]
Chantal Nong (February 2018—present): Vice president of Production, overseeing development & production management of DC-based films.[12]
Former
Geoff Johns (May 2016—December 2017): Former co-chairman of DC Films,[13] former DC Entertainment president and CCO (February 2010—June 2018), and former co-runner of DCEU (2015—June 2018).[14]
Jon Berg (May 2016—December 2017):[13][5] Former WB executive vice president,[5] former co-chairman of DC Films, and former co-runner of DCEU.[13]
Warner Bros. Pictures, 6th & Idaho and Dylan Clark Productions
^Whedon was hired by Warner Bros. Pictures during post-production to significantly alter the film. He is credited as co-screenwriter, while his directing was credited theatrically as executive producer. Despite this, Snyder retains sole credit as director of the film.
