'Justice League' Disappointment Leads To DC Films Shakeup

It was inevitable, but given the terrible reviews and disappointing box office for “Justice League,” and the overall slump of DC Films to date (“Wonder Woman” aside), Warner Bros. and DC are making some big changes again.

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When the new year kicks off, DC Films will go through yet another reorg. Going out the door is producer Jon Berg, who had been running the film production arm of the comic book company, though his exit has apparently been in the works for months. More surprising however is that Geoff Johns, the quasi-Kevin Feige of DC, is expected to take a more “advisory” role in the comic book movies going forward. This is huge news. It was Johns that promised more “hope and optimism” in the DCEU following “Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice,” and a goal to “make the movies fun.”

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Noble ideas, but numbers are what everyone is looking at and no one is happy. After three weeks in release, “Justice League” stands at $570.3 million worldwide and it keeps dropping week over week by at least 50% domestically. It’s going to come nowhere close to the $1 billion haul of the ‘Avengers‘ movies, and arguably might miss the $700-750 million worldwide needed to pull out some kind of profit. It’s a dismal showing so far for what easily should have been DC Films’ biggest movie.

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This isn’t the first shakeup over at the DCEU. Zack Snyder’s “Snyderverse” was supposed to be the vision that lead DC Films; Snyder even had a say in the story of “Wonder Woman,” but after the disappointment that was “Batman V Superman,” the director was pushed aside (recent reports suggested WB even considered pushing him off “Justice League,” but the wheels were already in motion on the project). Then Charles Roven, the producer on “Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice” (and Christopher Nolan’s “Dark Knight” trilogy), who also had say over the entire DCEU, was also demoted.

READ MORE: What Went Wrong With ‘Justice League’ At The Box Office

This is certainly not good for DC Films who seems to simply ditch leadership every time one of their films fail rather than trying to see through one creative vision. In fact, it seems as if Warner Bros. is just chasing the money and whatever’s popular which is a losing proposition. If they’re putting all their eggs in the “Wonder Woman” basket and or whatever film happens to not bomb, is this much of a strategy?

Variety reiterates that while Ben Affleck is expected to appear in “The Flashpoint” movie, it’s doubtful he’ll star in Matt Reeves‘ standalone “The Batman” film which is reportedly looking to cast a new, fresh actor (recent rumors had Jake Gyllenhaal as the name). Honestly, DC Films seems like a rudderless mess and it’s going to be very difficult to get this cinematic universe on track if the company just hedges their bets with every movie rather than organically build a real canvas for its characters. Spin-off films like “The Batman” and another Joker movie just feel like more irons in the fire in case one of those pictures takes off and the company can once again veer off course and chase the tail of the almighty dollar. Even “Avengers” helmer and “Justice League” clean-up filmmaker Joss Whedon was supposed to play a “major” role in the DCEU, but who knows if that’s happening anymore given the “Justice League” snafu.

What’s interesting is how far behind Marvel DC Films still is due to their pattern of halting development on projects when one of their movies underwhelms. Marvel has three films coming out every year for the next few years, something DC Films is desperate to match, but the company only has one movie coming out in 2018 (“Aquaman“) and two for 2019 (“Shazam” and “Wonder Woman 2“).

Suicide Squad 2,” “Gotham City Sirens,” or a Harley Quinn movie should’ve been in production by now, but clearly the studio hasn’t gotten these scripts to the place they need to be (and David Ayer seems to have been pushed off owning the “Suicide Squad” universe too. There are dozens of DC Films pictures in development, “Green Lantern Corps,” “Nightwing,” “Batgirl,” “Flashpoint,” etc., but at this point who knows when they’ll come out. Don’t be surprised if the company has to wait for “Flashpoint” to realign the series and softly reboot itself, and at this point the earliest that movie will arrive is 2020. But overall, it’s been a terrible narrative for a universe based on one of the most popular intellectual properties on the planet. — with Kevin Jagernauth