There are some folks to whom the question of whether Marvel movies are better than DC movies is a matter of life and death, to be waged at all hours of the day and night against strangers over the computer. It’s certainly a narrative the media likes to engage. When THR sat down with Warner Bros. honcho Greg Silverman, they asked how his studio’s upcoming superhero hero slate will stand out from Marvel’s equally ambitious movie plans. According to Silverman, the plan is to find the talent first, and the rest will follow.
"We have a great strategy for the DC films, which is to take these beloved characters and put them in the hands of master filmmakers and make sure they all coordinate with each other. You’ll see the difference when you see ‘Batman v. Superman,’ ‘Suicide Squad,’ ‘Justice League‘ and all the things that we are working on," Silverman explained. And he brushed off concerns that the DC movies in recent memory have been too dark and brooding.
READ MORE: Warner Bros. CEO says DC Movies Are "Edgier" Than Marvel Films
"There is intensity and a seriousness of purpose to some of these characters," he said. "The filmmakers who are tackling these properties are making great movies about superheroes; they aren’t making superhero movies. And when you are trying to make a good movie, you tackle interesting philosophies and character development. There’s also humor, which is an important part."
The studio has also come under fire for what is perceived to be a scattershot approach to their screenplay development, sometimes hiring multiple writers to compete for the same movie. But Silverman stands by that approach. "Every project is different. On some projects, we have multiple writers working together. In some cases, we put writers together who have never been a team together. And sometimes, there is only one writer whose voice is right. In the case of ‘Wonder Woman,’ the right approach was to have writers pitching different scenes within the framework we created," he explained.
Whether or not your agree with his approach, Silverman is certainly confident Warner Bros. has the winning formula. Agree? Disagree? Let us know below.
