Warner Bros Discovery CEO Interested In Joker Director Todd Philips To Take Important DC Films Role

A major shakeup at Warner Bros. Discovery has CEO David Zaslav eyeing Joker director Todd Phillips for an important role at DC Films. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Executives Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy are being brought in by the Warner Bros. Discovery CEO the WB and New Line verticals after departing MGM. With De Luca and Abdy coming in, Toby Emmerich would step down from running WB and New Line. In one of the more surprising moves, Zaslav has reportedly asked Todd Phillips to serve as an advisor to DC Films, though the Joker director won’t have any executive duties. 

Sources went on to state how Zaslav and Phillips have built a rapport, which could be one of the leading factors for the rumored interest in the director’s increased services across Warner Bros. Discovery’s DC Films output. The report goes on to state how Zaslav is looking to create three distinct verticals for the company, with each having its own leadership up top. One vertical would see De Luca and Abdy over Warner Bros.-New Line, with DC and Animation as the other two verticals. Part of the restructuring will reportedly see DC Films President Walter Hamada report directly to De Luca and Abdy until new leadership can be found. 

Zaslav has consulted with former Disney studio chairman Alan Horn and former Disney CEO Bob Iger for tips on navigating multiple verticals and executive producers at a company. While Disney has Kevin Feige overseeing Marvel’s film, television, and comic output, DC doesn’t have one guiding voice to help steer the ships. Whereas every Marvel project is tied together in one cohesive universe, DC has taken the approach of letting its filmmakers have the autonomy to tell stories that don’t have to be so closely connected, such as Joker and Matt Reeves’ The Batman.

Todd Phillips is reportedly working on the script for a Joker sequel, with THR noting that “Todd Phillips struck a deal to co-write the next Joker installment,” in a May 2021 article. A disappointing update came almost a year later in March 2022 when The Ankler reported work on the script for Joker 2 has slowed. Per the report, it’s not clear what the issue is, but Phillips, who is also writing the film, has not yet turned in a draft of the sequel. With filming rumored to start as soon as early 2023, the current reported delay may not have much of an impact at all film production — but that could change if the delay goes on too long.

Zaslav is already making moves after the Warner Bros. Discovery merger was completed. The CEO has canceled plans for a Wonder Twins movie on HBO Max, and is “imposing a mandate that DC movies should now be made with a theatrical-first goal.” A source quoted in the report also claims that “a lot of things that were developed are going to go away.”

The report claimed that Zaslav hopes to keep HBO Max-exclusive movies within a budget of $35 million and under, in part because mid-budget exclusive movies attract more subscribers to the service. Meanwhile, movies that debuted in theaters and move to HBO Max with a 45-day window have proven to be a huge draw for attracting subscribers, as recently evident with The Batman.

Would you want to see Joker director Todd Phillips with a role at DC Films? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!