The appointment of James Gunn and Peter Safran to lead DC Studios, endorsed by David Zaslav, has become a heavenly blessing for DC fans. Their favorite film franchise will finally have a change in the big seat after Walter Hamada left last month after serving fifteen long years as the company’s president.
James Gunn, having previously directed the critically acclaimed film The Suicide Squad, hopes to paint a brighter future for DC Studios and the DCU with Peter Safran by his side. Zaslav will look to see how the pair will ensure the progress of the DCU, also confirming that the long-awaited roadmap for the DCU will cement two key players in the DCU roles.
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David Zaslav Hints James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DCU Roadmap Plans Are Complete
During an earnings call earlier this month, David Zaslav had his share of praise for DC Studios’ new co-heads.
The 46-year-old media executive praised James Gunn and his storytelling ability as well as Peter Safran’s prolific record as a film producer. He said-
“They’re hard at work right now…James is a brilliant storyteller who has the distinction of being the first and only filmmaker to direct a film for both Marvel and DC.
He then had this to say about Safran-
“A prolific producer whose credits include DC’s highest-grossing film, Aquaman, as well as the entire Conjuring universe, the most successful horror franchise of all time. We couldn’t be more thrilled to have them join our management team, and I’m excited about what’s to come.
And now, in a recent excerpt of a conversation between Zaslav and RBC’s Kutgun Maral for RBC, the man in the big seat at Warner Bros. Discovery says Gunn has already made plans for the DCU for years to come-
“I think over the next few years you’re going to see a lot of growth and opportunity around DC, there won’t be four Batmans.”
It looks like David Zaslav had a slip and revealed during the interview that Ben Affleck and Robert Pattinson’s current jobs of playing Batman in his company’s productions aren’t in jeopardy.
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He goes on to ask fans to give Safran and Gunn a “period of time” to show what they can do-
“So part of our strategy is to kick the hell out of DC, which is what James and Peter are going to do. I think they delighted the fans. I think they will delight you for a while.
Whatever opinion people may have of Safran or Gunn, it’s important to give them time to properly plan a roadmap for the DCU. The wait only makes it better!
Also Read: ‘Marvel Is 7, 8, 9 Times Bigger, But We’ve Got Batman’: WB CEO David Zaslav Says MCU Is Bigger, But DC Is A Better Money-Making Machine
Here’s how David Zaslav plans to spend HBO’s budget
In a recent interview with RBC’s Kutgun Maral, David Zaslav also revealed some interesting details about how HBO’s business for WarnerMedia led the media company to a $3 billion loss. It comes after the company spent $7 billion creating content for HBO Max.
Related: Fantastic Beasts 4 Not In Development At Warner Brothers Fuels Rumors David Zaslav Is Keen To Bring The OG Harry Potter Universe Back Into The Bosom
Zaslav revealed during the interview how his company plans to prevent the accumulation of such a loss again-
“We are right [now] scale HBO Max – more content people love, more original content.
“Our entire library went to HBO Max, and we weren’t selling any of them, but it was all there. Now, this all could have worked, but we looked at it and said: Most of this is unmonitored. Or, we think no one subscribes because of it. We may sell it non-exclusively to someone else. Look at this huge library that we have.
It looks like the nightmarish backlash that WB and its affiliates were facing from fans has died down after a while, and things are finally looking good for the company.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
