James Gunn's DC Plans "Could and Should be a Game Changer" Says Warner Bros. CEO
It has been nearly a month since James Gunn and Peter Safran outlined their plans for the DC Universe, unveiling ten movies and HBO Max television shows set to arrive in the coming years. After a decade of stops and starts regarding the DC franchise, fans are definitely curious and eager to see what this new DC Studios effort has in store — and apparently, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav is also excited about the future. During the company's recent quarterly earnings call, Zaslav teased that they are "all in" on Gunn and Safran's plans, and that the DC slate alone "could and should be a game changer" for the company at large.
"We're laser focused on building this DC 10-year plan," Zaslav explained. 'James was writing [Superman: Legacy]. We were spending time with him and Peter, and he had a vision for for DC that we are all in on. He presented that to you and the press about a month ago. It's one of the biggest value creation opportunities for us. I think it could and should be huge, because it wasn't being pushed on. If you look at DC, Harry Potter, and Lord of the Rings, and then you take a look at Warner, as a company, without those three. It's those three of the tentpole products that, when someone's at dinner anywhere in the world, and they look at their watch at 8:00 and you mentioned Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, in every country, they leave dinner and they gotta go home to view that product that they love. It gives a huge advantage with those tentpoles."
"We are a storytelling company," Zaslav continued. "But we I believe we that we have an overwhelming advantage in the marketplace with the IP that we own, to take [and] get that advantage. We have to create great content with that IP. That's storytelling IP. We haven't done a Superman movie in 10 years. We haven't done new Harry Potter content in over a decade. And Lord of the Rings, which is a fantastic franchise. You know, if Andy Jassy was pushing on it at Amazon with with a lot of success, we own those movie rights. And so we want to optimize that, as a unified strategy for the company. We take that across film, TV, and even to sell out to third parties, because we have something. We have a treasure that no one else has. And you know, for us, DC alone could and should be a game changer. I think there was a lot left on the table. We got to take those swings. We got some of the best creatives in the industry right now focused on those swings."
What is on the DC Universe slate?
As Gunn and Safran revealed late last month, the initial DC Studios slate for "Gods and Monsters" will include movies for Superman: Legacy, The Brave and the Bold, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, Swamp Thing, and The Authority. It will include the HBO Max television shows Waller, Booster Gold, Lanterns, Paradise Lost, and an animated Creature Commandos series.
What do you think of David Zaslav's new comments about the DC Studios slate? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!