Warner Bros. Forms DC Entertainment

isn’t the only comic book company making news. Today, Warner Bros. shook up the comic book world by announcing the formation of DC Entertainment. While many have speculated that the move was made in response to the announced Disney acquisition of Marvel Comics, others claim that the restructuring had been in the works for a long time.According to a Warner Bros. press release, DC Entertainment Inc. will be “a new company founded to fully realize the power and value of the DC Comics brand and characters across all media and platforms.” DC Entertainment will be run by Diane Nelson, which means current DC Comics President & Publisher Paul Levitz will be transitioning into a new role.The mission of DC Entertainment will be to strategically integrate the DC Comics business, brand and characters deeply into Warner Bros. Entertainment and all its content and distribution businesses. Translation: Expect to see a whole lot more comic book movies starring DC Comics characters.The good news is that DC Comics isn’t abandoning its core comic book print business for the film world. The DC Comics publishing business will be the cornerstone of DC Entertainment, and DC Comic plans to continue releasing approximately 90 comic books through its various imprints and 30 graphic novels a month,As President of DC Entertainment, Diane Nelson will report to Jeff Robinov, who isPresident of Warner Bros. Pictures Group. According to a Warner Bros. press release, Nelson has more than 20 years’ experience in creative brand management, strategic marketing and content development and production. Paul Levitz will no longer be President & Publisher of DC Comics, but he will continue to work with DC Entertainment as a writer, a contributing editor and a consultant.”DC Comics and its super hero characters are truly touchstones of popular culture, and the formation of DC Entertainment is a major step in our company’s efforts to realize the full potential of this incredible wellspring of creative properties,” said Barry Meyer, who is Chairman & CEO of Warner Bros. “Diane knows our studio as a creative executive, a marketer and a senior manager, and this varied background will help her effectively and creatively integrate the DC brand and properties across all our businesses. We’re also thrilled that Paul will remain involved with DC and we’ll be able to tap his expertise to help us reach our goals for this new business.””It’s no secret that DC has myriad rich and untapped possibilities from its deep library of iconic and lesser-known characters,” said Alan Horn, who is President & COO of Warner Bros. “While we’ve had great success in films and television, the formation of DC Entertainment will help us to bring more DC properties across additional platforms to fans around the world, while maintaining brand integrity and authenticity. Diane is a terrific choice to lead DC Entertainment, and with Paul in his new role as a valued consultant and contributing editor, both our company and comic fans win.””Based on the great success we’ve had working with DC Comics to create some of the most popular and successful super hero films of all time, I’ve long believed that there was much more we could do across all of Warner Bros.’ businesses with this great body of characters and stories,” said Jeff Robinov. “The prioritization of DC and the creation of DC Entertainment is a great opportunity that reaches far beyond the film group. There are endless creative possibilities to build upon the many significant successes already achieved by my colleagues Kevin Tsujihara and the Home Entertainment Group in the videogame, home video and direct-to-platform arenas and Bruce Rosenblum and the Television Group in live-action, animated and digital series. Collectively, we have the ability to grow a body of properties highlighting the iconic characters and the diversity of the creative output of DC Comics.””The founding of DC Entertainment fully recognizes our desire to provide both the DC properties and fans the type of content that is only possible through a concerted cross-company, multi-platform effort,” said Diane Nelson. “DC Entertainment will help us to formally take the great working relationships between DC Comics and various Warner Bros. businesses to the next level in order to maximize every opportunity to bring DC’s unrivalled collection of titles and characters to life.””After so many roles at DC, it’s exciting to look forward to focusing on my writing and being able to remain a part of the company I love as it grows into its next stage,” said Paul Levitz.”It’s a new golden age for comics and DC’s great characters, and I hope my new position will allow me to contribute to that magic time.”