by Andrew Kiess

DC news needs to stop dropping when I’m in school.

There is a lot to cover and I honestly do not want to go through it like it’s all breaking news, because, let’s be honest, if you’re reading this, you know what’s been going on. I will keep the news brief and then explain what I think it means for DC Films going forward.

Two weeks ago, news broke of Joseph Hamada was taking over for the departed Jon Berg as President of DC Films. Later in that week, we learned of a major shakeup in the executive suite of Warner Bros. motion pictures, with Sue Kroll stepping away from her role as president and Toby Emmerich, is essence, taking over as chairman if Warner Bros. Picture Group, taking over some duties previously held by WB CEO Kevin Tsujihara in day-to-day operations of the film studio.

The good news in this is it slims down the number of chefs in the kitchen for the WB executives, particularly with Tsujihara no longer in a position to call the shots. Whether or not Emmerich is the man for the job remains to be seen, but there is reason to be optimistic in light of this shakeup.

What is more interesting from a producer standpoint is the news coming from Suicide Squad 2, where Michael De Luca joined Charles Roven as producer. This shows a departure from DC Film’s habit of having one producer oversee multiple films. It appears that this move signals a new age in the structure of these films, with a focus on individual franchises rather than the universe as a whole.

We also now know that Shazam! will hit theaters in April of next year, and will feature Mark Strong as the villain Dr. Sivana. With Shazam! being produced by New Line where Walter Hamada oversaw production, it will be our first glimpse of the future of DC Films.

Finally, and certainly not least, we have our directors for Flashpoint. After Ben Affleck reportedly turned down the job, WB has entered negotiations with Vacation directors and Spider-Man Homecoming writers John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, who will be working from a script by Joby Harold. This would be far from my first choice for this project, but I think it would be fairly safe to say that the Flashpoint film will be quite far away from the beloved Geoff Johns story. With rumors of Ben Affleck making one last appearance in the cape and cowl, Flashpoint has been a popular choice for that appearance, although Suicide Squad 2 could also be a possibility.

It’s an interesting time to follow these movies. I am cautiously optimistic that at the end of these changes will be some movies that I will truly love. While Aquaman will represent the end of this era of DC on film, it is exciting to see the next era coming in strong. We can only hope that the product delivers.

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