American film production label of Warner Bros. Pictures
DC Studios is an film and television studio that is a subsidiary of Warner Bros.,[4][5] a division of Warner Bros. Discovery dedicated to the production of films based on characters from DC Comics. Walter Hamada was the president of DC Films until his departure in October 2022,[6] working under and reporting directly to the co-CEOs and co-Chairpersons of Warner Bros. Pictures, Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy.[3][7] De Luca currently effectively runs the division and manages its films.[8] James Gunn and Peter Safran are set to assume control of the company, rebranded as DC Studios, on November 1, 2022.[9]
Background
National era
During DC's National era, the company licensed Batman and Superman (and other All-American Comics characters) to Republic Pictures and Columbia Pictures for advertising serials and shorts. Other comic characters, such as Fawcett Comics' Shazam and Quality Comics' Plastic Man (which ultimately sold to DC), also had a serial short.
Warner Communications era
After the release of the first feature-length Batman film, Kinney National Company (later Warner Communications) purchased National Comics Publication in 1967 and then Warner Bros.-Seven Arts in 1969. This purchase meant that the comic company's television and theatrical distribution turned over to Warner Bros. However, it would not take effect until the late 1980s (likely due to licensing deals) after the release of the Superman and Swamp Thing films. The Batman films once again marked a return to the big screen.
History
Beginning of DC Films
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.[10] However, the division's formation was not designed to override the "director-driven" mandate.[11]
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.[12] The DC Extended Universe operated under a "director-driven" mandate.[11] 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.[13] Despite this, in December the studio reiterated their current film slate for the unofficially titled DC Extended Universe.[14] 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.[15]
Restructuring
In April 2022, after the merger between WarnerMedia and Discovery, Inc. to form Warner Bros. Discovery, the new CEO David Zaslav was exploring a restructuring of DC Entertainment, including having a creative leader akin to Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige to lead its film and television projects.[16]
Later in July, Toby Emmerich stepped down as the head of the Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group. The group was restructured to give DC Films, Warner Bros. Pictures, New Line Cinema, and Warner Animation Group respective leadership. Former MGM executives Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy became the co-executives of Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema. They were also temporarily signed to oversee the remaining units of the group until the new positions were filled.[17][18]
When the release of the film Batgirl was canceled by Warner Bros. Discovery in August, Hamada was reportedly not consulted regarding the decision and only learned about it when De Luca and Abdy informed him at a test screening for Black Adam (2022). Hamada was upset and considered resigning, but agreed to stay at least until Black Adam's release.[19] Later that month, Dan Lin entered talks to oversee DC's film and television divisions. From this position, Lin was expected to report directly to Zaslav, while Hamada would depart the studio.[20][21] In September, Lin and Warner Bros. Discovery ended negotiations and agreed to part ways.[22] During Black Adam’s Times Square premiere in October, star and producer Dwayne Johnson said he could be a consultant at DC Films, helping the studio find its next creative leader.[23] Later that month, it was reported that De Luca had been effectively running DC Films in place of Walter Hamada.[8] On October 19, Hamada departed from the company, just two days before the release of Black Adam.[24]
Creation of DC Studios
In October 2022, it was announced that James Gunn and Peter Safran would serve as the co-CEOs/co-Chairmen of the studio which will be rebranded as "DC Studios" moving forward. The duo will oversee production on films, television, and animation under the DC label, reporting directly to David Zaslav, while also working alongside but independently of heads of other divisions. Gunn will oversee the creative development of DC projects, aside from Joker: Folie a Deux, which will remain under De Luca and Abdy's supervision. It is unclear whether Gunn and Safran will have influence over The Batman (film) universe. Gunn and Safran's roles begin effective November 1, 2022.[9]
