'Batman v Superman' Fallout: Warner Bros. Shakes Up Executive Roles

[MisterTorgo]

Good for them.

I still don't trust Johns though.

I'd agree with this.

I don't trust Johns with something this big. He's made some good comics but also some really bad, overwrought ones and nothing he's done inspires confidence in me.

If he had written Batman v. Superman, I imagine it wouldn't have been too different than what we got.

 

[BatLobster]

It's good that they're trying to do something, but I still think WB/DC are going to live and die by their directors. I really don't think Johns is going to be some savior.

 

[samsnee]

Well there's always Part II.

If JL 1 bombs there may not be a part 2.

 

[mclay18]

I know that Suicide Squad and Wonder Woman are done (and I have low expectations for both)

Why? Patty Jenkins has yet to make a bad film, and David Ayer is a solid director. And before you say, "Well, Zack Snyder is still producing them! ", he doesn't have much say in films he doesn't direct.

 

[Boom]

I'm not a big fan of Johns, so while I'm glad they put a comic-book guy in charge of everything, he wouldn't have been my choice. But they love him over there, so him getting the nod is not surprising in the least. And at this point, it's better than nothing. Anything to get Snyder out of his "godfather" position.

 

[The Guard]

I don't think Johns is expected to be a savior. Johns is involved because he's a veteran of both comics and film. This move should surprise no one, really. He was already kind of in this type of role with DC Entertainment, now it's a more visible one. But he was obviously going to be more involved in the DC cinematic universe already, if his role in the upcoming Batman solo was any indicator.

This article says nothing about Zack Snyder not still being heavily involved in the creative side of things. I don't think they're disbanding the "braintrust" or anything. It just says Johns will oversee production of the films along with Berg on an executive level.

It's all about perception these days. These moves make it look like Snyder has oversight at a senior executive level, and make it look like Affleck and his people are becoming more and more in control of the ship, because he's the critical and creative darling in this group. And this all may well transition to Affleck's "team" in the near future.

Although that may have been the plan for a while. WB courted Affleck for JUSTICE LEAGUE before George Miller signed on, and Affleck has made no secret of the fact that he'd like to learn to make bigger, blockbuster style films.

 

[Closerframe]

As long as Johns is simply providing story concepts and overall structure for the DCEU, I'm fine with his new role. Remember people, David Goyer created the story for Batman Begins, and assisted the Nolans with the two follow-ups, so it goes to show, a lot of times it's a collaborative effort with not a single person in creative control.

That being said, I would love for Snyder's role to be significantly reduced moving forward and I hope JL Part 1 can be more heavily monitored by the studio to ensure it's not the same bleak crap we got in BvS. However, there's still the possibility that WB could drop Snyder from Part 2 which would likely happen if they don't end up liking what they're seeing from Part 1's production.

 

[samsnee]

The problem is that Wonder Woman and Suicide Squad are already in the can. JL is already filming. Snyder helped guide the tone of Wonder Woman if reports are to believed. Aquaman in starting soon. Flash script is being kept for the most part.

How much can they really change without shaking everything up completely?

 

[samsnee]

Why? Patty Jenkins has yet to make a bad film, and David Ayer is a solid director. And before you say, "Well, Zack Snyder is still producing them! ", he doesn't have much say in films he doesn't direct.

Jenkins has only made 1 film and that was a low budget film. So not really a fair statement. I agree Ayer is solid and SS looks in good hands. From what I've read though, Snyder did have a hand in the tone of WW. Gal Gadot has even said that it's a "dark" film.

 

[Closerframe]

The problem is that Wonder Woman and Suicide Squad are already in the can. JL is already filming. Snyder helped guide the tone of Wonder Woman if reports are to believed. Aquaman in starting soon. Flash script is being kept for the most part.

How much can they really change without shaking everything up completely?

As someone else mentioned, Snyder can have influence as a producer, but it could be completely meaningless at the end of the day in the hands of a different director. Ayer has proven himself that he's more than capable of handling somewhat complicated stories and Jenkins hasn't demonstrated in her small filmography that she can't handle a organic story. Regarding the other films, they're still in pre-production so changes can still be made, if necessary, to complete rewrites.

 

[Abudefduf]

In stark contrast, Marvel Studios’ Captain America: Civil War is heading towards $1 billion in less than two weeks of release. The movie too pitted heroes against each other but Marvel's lighter tone and bright colors (while tackling more serious themes) are clearly resonating with audiences.

Not to mention the fact that CW is an actually well made movie? I know it's not as important as the lighter tone and the bright colors, but still.

Anyway, I'm glad some change in happening because it's obviously needed, I just can't help but to be a bit worried about what this means for Suicide Squad. Hopefully they don't mess it up.

 

[Supernova]

Everyone says dc needs a kevin feige yet they tend to forget kevin feige produced alot of bad marvel films before hitting homeruns in 2008 until now. I say give johns a shot and let him earn his stripes along with berg. Im not saying its a garunteed hit but who knows.

 

[Supernova]

Not to mention the fact that CW is an actually well made movie? I know it's not as important as the lighter tone and the bright colors, but still.

Anyway, I'm glad some change in happening because it's obviously needed, I just can't help but to be a bit worried about what this means for Suicide Squad. Hopefully they don't mess it up.

Im less worried about suicide squad and more about justice league part 1. It seems like with all the shake ups that WB is putting alot more eyes on set to watch over and question snyder on a daily basis and its not a bad thing really. Collaborative efforts on movies are great for the end product. The nolans and goyer did some special things.

 

[Zarex]

Everyone says dc needs a kevin feige yet they tend to forget kevin feige produced alot of bad marvel films before hitting homeruns in 2008 until now. I say give johns a shot and let him earn his stripes along with berg. Im not saying its a garunteed hit but who knows.

Feige didn't have control over the films produced prior to 2008. His work since being named President of Production for Marvel Studios in 2007 has been consistently strong.

 

[Supernova]

Feige didn't have control over the films produced prior to 2008. His work since being named President of Production for Marvel Studios in 2007 has been consistently strong.

He had input on every marvel film since 2000, maybe not final say but definitely input.

Which sounds very familiar now with DC promoting two guys directly in charge.

 

[BMCAABY]

He had input on every marvel film since 2000, maybe not final say but definitely input.

Which sounds very familiar now with DC promoting two guys directly in charge.

Same goes for Johns involvement with the previous DC films. He had little say or control. He has a huge role in the cw shows and they are critically acclaimed. The input he has given for The Flash is what the DCEU movies absolutely needs.

 

[Chip Chipperson]

I commend their effort, even though I know this is all motivated by their desire to make money, and less about doing the material justice.

That being said, Johns was reported to have had a strong creative influence on the Green Lantern script for 2011's film. That didn't work out well.

He should stick to the comic books, not screenwriting.

stop acting like Disney's main goal isn't to maximize profits. They're both companies with the same goal in mind at the end of the day. Disney just understands better that doing the material justice leads to more money, hopefully WB soon realizes this as well.

 

[Asteroid-Man]

This is a fluff piece meant to make us think they've shaken things up to tell people "don't worry, we're fixing things". They haven't. This has been headed this way since before BvS reviews even came out.

Replacing Johns and Berg with Paul Dini and Bruce Timm would have been cheaper and a wiser decision.

 

[Aquafinn90]

This is a fluff piece meant to make us think they've shaken things up to tell people "don't worry, we're fixing things". They haven't. This has been headed this way since before BvS reviews even came out.

Replacing Johns and Berg with Paul Dini and Bruce Timm would have been cheaper and a wiser decision.

While I do think these changes are being overhyped and a bit exaggerated, it seems clear there is a major power shift going on. Johns was always involved with the DCEU Brain Trust- Deborah Snyder herself said that it was him and Zack that mapped out the universe, but the difference is that Snyder is seemingly no longer having much of a voice, while Johns has replaced him in that respect. Snyder was initially the brains of the operation, seemingly.

 

[BMCAABY]

This is a fluff piece meant to make us think they've shaken things up to tell people "don't worry, we're fixing things". They haven't. This has been headed this way since before BvS reviews even came out.

Replacing Johns and Berg with Paul Dini and Bruce Timm would have been cheaper and a wiser decision.

Bruce timm and dini are such a fanboy choice. They are in charge of animation lead projects and I think thats what they prefer.
Geoff Johns has had 0 control over the storytelling or the personalities of the characters.
The man is a phenomenal writer, he knows storytelling and how the characters should be. Though I like how Snyder has made the JL members look (costume and general design)
Snyder doesn't care about how the characters should behave. Johns does and has done some awesome work. He wrote the flashpoint story and those type of stories are impactful ones that DCEU needs. Flashpoint in live action would be fared critically well because its intriguing and never before seen. It's a fresh and new cinematic storyline thats why it would work. Johns has the ability to give Fiege like control that would benefit because he knows how the characters and stories work and can correct ludicrous ideas of directors such as Snyder. The Flash cameo though for a fan it was cool it was not needed. BvS would've been good if someone like Johns had more control. Snyder just pulled things from nowhere and decided that should work.

 

[FunkMiller]

While I do think these changes are being overhyped and a bit exaggerated, it seems clear there is a major power shift going on. Johns was always involved with the DCEU Brain Trust- Deborah Snyder herself said that it was him and Zack that mapped out the universe, but the difference is that Snyder is seemingly no longer having much of a voice, while Johns has replaced him in that respect. Snyder was initially the brains of the operation, seemingly.

Absolutely right.

The Snyders are being pushed out - and thank god for that.

I'm uncertain about Johns and Berg, but at least there's now a chance we'll get a better DCEU moving forward. There was no chance of that with Snyder in the position of power.

 

[Wanda Detroit]

The constant ragging on JL is exhausting. Doom and Gloom and it is still being filmed. Anyway, I just want these movies to be fun and entertaining. I enjoyed BvS. It just needed to be broken up into two parts. I will root for Justice League and the rest of DC just to combat all of the tiring negativity.

 

[third3ye]

This all sounds fine to me but also sounds like Johns is going to be stretched too thin. So he's going to remain CCO of publishing and add film to his plate? No big deal right? At this stage I'll take almost anybody over Snyder running/ruining the DCEU.

Also interesting is that WB is taking on a genre approach with creative heads (Harry Potter, comedy/family, scifi/action), which is similar to how the Disney franchises are set up - Lasseter with Pixar & DAS, Kennedy with Lucasfilm, and Feige with Marvel. With Disney this structure grew organically because that's how the studios were acquired, but since WB wholly owned all its IP already, I guess this is how they want to structure things going forward.

 

[Asteroid-Man]

Bruce timm and dini are such a fanboy choice. They are in charge of animation lead projects and I think thats what they prefer.
Geoff Johns has had 0 control over the storytelling or the personalities of the characters.
The man is a phenomenal writer, he knows storytelling and how the characters should be. Though I like how Snyder has made the JL members look (costume and general design)
Snyder doesn't care about how the characters should behave. Johns does and has done some awesome work. He wrote the flashpoint story and those type of stories are impactful ones that DCEU needs. Flashpoint in live action would be fared critically well because its intriguing and never before seen. It's a fresh and new cinematic storyline thats why it would work. Johns has the ability to give Fiege like control that would benefit because he knows how the characters and stories work and can correct ludicrous ideas of directors such as Snyder. The Flash cameo though for a fan it was cool it was not needed. BvS would've been good if someone like Johns had more control. Snyder just pulled things from nowhere and decided that should work.

Guess why they're fanboy choices? Because they're really really good. They redefined a handful of DC characters for the better. They know how to do cross-series storytelling and they understand the characters.

While I do think these changes are being overhyped and a bit exaggerated, it seems clear there is a major power shift going on. Johns was always involved with the DCEU Brain Trust- Deborah Snyder herself said that it was him and Zack that mapped out the universe, but the difference is that Snyder is seemingly no longer having much of a voice, while Johns has replaced him in that respect. Snyder was initially the brains of the operation, seemingly.

I'd rather not take the risk with Johns. His track record is 50/50. Dini and Timm are proven.

 

[BMCAABY]

The constant ragging on JL is exhausting. Doom and Gloom and it is still being filmed. Anyway, I just want these movies to be fun and entertaining. I enjoyed BvS. It just needed to be broken up into two parts. I will root for Justice League and the rest of DC just to combat all of the tiring negativity.

I enjoyed BvS but that was just the fannin me seeing the two characters showing up for the first time. But I didn't feel for any character except Batman. The film was pretty boring too.
JL should not be visuals > compelling and entertaining story like BvS. In the mean time I think Geoff Johns and Berg will have the ability correct the story ideas of Snyder. Which was the main reason BvS sucked.