DC Makes A Major Creative Change And Assigns A New President Of Entertainment

DC was a few years behind Marvel when it came to establishing a cohesive cinematic universe, and there’s no doubt they’ve had a much bumpier start to that journey. With The Avengers and its spin-offs, Marvel has dominated the superhero landscape for several years, and this doesn’t look to be changing as they segue into Phase 3 of their cinematic universe with minimum effort and maximum profit. For them, the future is bright. For DC, well, it’s been a different story.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was supposed to be DC’s apex, their official stamp on the world of superhero cinema, and where it did wow some fans, it also disappointed others. The overall opinion was a mixed bag for a blockbuster that was expected to break big but actually failed to top $1 billion at the box office. And what have DC done about this? Well, they have actually addressed it.

For weeks now, following the aftermath of the Batman v Superman controversy and a fans vs. critics battle that was covered by Screen Rant, rumors have circulated that Warner Bros. and DC are doing something shake up the hierarchy and make changes behind the scenes. Now, it has been confirmed that these rumors are indeed true, and DC has appointed a new president of DC Entertainment. The man in question: Geoff Johns.

According to a report from Bleeding Cool, Geoff Johns has officially been promoted to president of DC Entertainment. The report also hints that DC and Warner Bros. actually made this decision a couple of months ago after the mixed reviews and lackluster box-office return of Batman v Superman but wanted to ensure Comic-Con went without a hitch. With Comic-Con now winding down, this seems like a sensible decision on the part of the studios. Since the biggest comic event of the summer, DC have ushered a new lease of life into their franchise with superb trailers released for Wonder Woman and Justice League, both of which have received critical acclaim — thus far, anyway. Once again, the future is looking bright for DC, and the positive reception for Justice League, their equivalent of The Avengers, will only spur them on.

From DC’s perspective, this is a fantastic appointment. Geoff Johns has an extensive, well-documented background in the world of comics and an acute knowledge of DC characters and storylines. He also has a keen eye for detail and understands how to properly adapt these universes to the cinema screen. With his background, he will already be up to speed on the technicality of such adaptations, which saves DC some valuable time in regards to training and assigning a mentor. He has enjoyed popular comic runs with Green Lantern and Batman, both of whom feature in the Justice League, and let’s not forget that he is co-writing the new solo Batman movie with Ben Affleck too. With Affleck playing a key part in the future of the DC universe, you can bet Johns will not be far away.

Fans will be excited by this appointment too; Johns is pretty popular amongst the DC faithful, and his success in live-action entertainment will only have the fans smiling from ear to ear. Although he has just been promoted to president of DC Entertainment in a film capacity — a role he will share with DC Entertainment’s current president, Diane Nelson — he played a huge part in bringing TV shows Arrow and The Flash to the small screen in 2012 and 2014, respectively. He would also personally write the episodes that introduced fan favorites like the Huntress, Heat Wave, and Captain Cold. Johns is also a self-proclaimed geek, so having him at the helm means the source material will be treated with the respect and loyalty it deserves, which can only result in a more faithful universe.

This appointment means a more definitive, decisive shift for DC. Some studios would let the Batman v Superman performance slide, count it as a one-off, a fluke. DC, however, wants to move on and make waves in doing so. For the fans who didn’t enjoy Batman v Superman, this can only be a promising turn of events. With a solo Batman movie on the way, Justice League and Wonder Woman deep in production, and key characters like the Flash, Cyborg, and even Aquaman now coming into play, this creative change couldn’t have come at a better time.

Now, we just need more details on that Batman movie.

Wonder Woman will hit cinemas on June 2, 2017, and Justice League will be released on November 17, 2017.

[Image via Warner Bros. Pictures]