Warner Bros. Discovery might have a new head of DC to take on Marvel
posted Sunday Aug 28, 2022 by Scott Ertz
Over the past few years, the direction of the DC Comics universes has been confusing at best and chaotic at worst. Some films have been fantastic while others have been major misses. And, when the franchises crossover, the results are unimpressive. Then, add in the unrelated television versions of these characters and you have an inconsistent approach to media. Now, with DC's newest owners, the newly merged Warner Bros. Discovery, the brand has a renewed focus and a potentially focused future under a single leader.
The Marvel Approach
Marvel, in opposition to DC, has had great success with its media offerings. From movies to TV and even some external content, Marvel has had a singular vision for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The company gave each individual franchise a leader with the ability to drive the direction of the franchise. Then, when the characters came together in Avengers adventures, that leader would still maintain control over the writing and direction of their own character.
Meanwhile, Disney put Kevin Feige in charge of all MCU projects. All of the franchise directors report to him, and all decisions regarding the overall direction of the greater universe are made by him. This is how Marvel and Disney have managed to maintain consistency between films, between franchises, and even through crossovers.
The DC Approach
DC has taken a different approach toward film and television. In TV, the company created a single universe in which most, if not all, modern shows take place. The characters regularly cross over between shows and manually would be featured in a single story which took place across all of the shows and different nights. The Arrowverse, as it was commonly known, was incredibly popular and the highlight of the DC offerings.
On the other hand, the company's film offerings were chaos. Different directors with different visions, each producing stories set outside of a single universe. That's fine, except they tried to bring them together in Justice League, only to make it feel like the same actors were playing different roles. Then, some films came out without fitting into any of these boxes - completely separate.
The New Approach
Now that WarnerMedia is part of Discovery, forming Warner Bros. Discovery, the company wants to approach DC in the same way Disney approaches Marvel. In fact, it appears that they have found their version of Feige: producer Dan Lin.
Lin, according to reports, report directly to WBD CEO David Zaslav, skipping right past several levels of executives. This shows a focus on DC in the eyes of Zaslav that former versions of Warner seem to have lacked. His role is being championed by Alan Horn, the former Disney chair who was responsible for the restructuring that led to Feige overseeing Marvel.
For now, this is still a project in the works. This is because Lin has current projects with Disney, who would never let him work on their major franchises, such as Lilo & Stitch, while also taking over a division of a competitor. If the deal works out, hopefully he will help DC get its sealegs and walk a straight line to a consistent experience.
