From reboots to streaming, The Division faces some big challenges — and opportunities
Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at comScore, said of the new leadership team, “This is something the brand definitely needs.” “It’s always been about having a consistent and consistent message and approach from a creative and marketing standpoint. DC hasn’t always had that consistency, but the potential for DC characters has always been off the charts.”
And industry insiders suggest some avenues for the new team as they take the reins.
make a plan and stick to it
First, Gunn and Safran will need to decide which elements, if any, of the existing DCEU should continue (with both “Shazam!” and “Aquaman” sequels due out next year), the company will be able to use those titles. How to proceed with shared continuity, and how to approach the TV side of this vast empire. Most importantly, they should be allowed to experiment in order to develop long-term strategies properly.
“What Marvel does well is they have a plan and they stick to it,” the development executive said. “Some things just don’t work out and that’s okay. If they had dropped ‘Thor’ after ‘The Dark World,’ we wouldn’t have got ‘Ragnarok,’ one of Marvel’s best movies.”
And they have to beg the patience of Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, whose desire to find longtime Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige as DC’s counterpart embodies a task that’s easier said than done.
For now, he’s backing the creative experience of Gunn, who went on to become a major mainstream filmmaker with Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise and DC’s critically acclaimed “The Suicide Squad” and its HBO Max. Distributed the spinoff “Peacemaker” and commercial background. Safran, who has produced several successful DC films such as “Aquaman” and “Shazam”, as well as Warner Bros. “Conjuring” franchise.
And in return they’ll have some time to craft their own projects while overseeing a few years’ worth of material from the previous regime — including several movies detailing how they’ll reset the DC universe going forward.
Dwayne Johnson’s “Black Adam,” released last week, included the return of Henry Cavill as Superman and created uncertainty about the various Superman projects in development. Meanwhile, “The Flash” was expected to partially reset DC’s shared cinematic universe — assuming the studio could overcome the marketing challenges arising from star Ezra Miller and his troubled off-set behavior. Is.
The instinct may be to chart your own brand-new path, but insiders urge caution. “They really have to put in the time to make things work. People are very quick to throw things away,” said a development executive who doesn’t work in the comic-book realm.
don’t force a shared universe
Over the past four years, standalone or self-contained films have worked best for DC.
Todd Phillips’ 2019 hit “Joker” became the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time with an award success garnering more than $1 billion at the worldwide box office and 11 Oscar nominations. (A sequel featuring Lady Gaga is set to begin production next month.) Last spring’s “The Batman” grossed $771 million, receiving strong reviews. Neither core occurs within the DC Extended Universe. Both films reached peak audience demand, which put them in the top 0.2% of all movies in the US and worldwide, according to data from Parrot Analytics, ranking other DC movies released since 2018.
2018’s “Aquaman,” DC’s highest-grossing $1.1 billion film of all time, also plays far more as a standalone film, as it is an interconnected universe entry, despite the character’s introduction in the two previous Justice League films. is as. The protagonist’s adventures are largely self-contained with no outside cameos from fellow Justice Leaguers.
“I love the idea of the blatant freedom to defy the quantum mechanics of cinema and jump across the map in terms of themes, characters, timelines — whatever it may be,” Dergarbadian said. “Of course, you have to execute really well on that. The fans are always watching and they are very connected and well-versed.”
Should DC continue to develop titles that exist outside the DCEU, empowering filmmakers to build unique genre expanses with the safety net of superhero IP branding. Love it or hate it, “Joker” was a psychological character study intended as a comic book movie. DC’s characters and plot may veer into mature territory and embracing DC’s dark nature with a keen sense of humor is the key to success rather than chasing competition trends or trying to please everyone in order to risk exposure. Might be possible. With Gun’s irreverent style and affinity for outlandish characters, championing unique and undervalued DC assets shouldn’t be a problem.
At the same time, the studio can continue to tell stories within the shared franchise that don’t necessarily rely on stringent crossovers or in-universe plot requirements (Gun’s 2021 DC film “The Suicide Squad” was a semi-sequel and reboot of 2016). Suicide Squad,” which had a bigger budget, a star cast led by Will Smith and Jared Leto, along with a softer PG-13 rating). This approach leaves the door open for engaging crossovers, while not forcing a film to meet restrictive world-building requirements.
Tapping Gun and Safran is a “smart move”, according to one filmmaker, placing the primary focus in the action genre, and providing DC with a “singular creative vision” that has lacked division. Feige and ‘Star Wars’ have in the MCU [Jon] Favreau and [Dave] Filoni. DC has different warring factions. ,
Don’t neglect streaming
In August, Zaslav said there was little “an economic case” for “expensive direct-to-streaming films”. The willingness to invest in projects that generate tangible revenue is understandable, even prudent in most cases. But there’s a market value as a whole for movies with a streaming component, which makes for an almost tax write-off of the already-completed $90 million “Batgirl” spinoff’s permanent shelving. $20 million All the more head scratching.
Streaming is often additive, not antagonistic, to theatrical release. This enables studios to ping-pong characters and story elements popular among mediums, creating a two-way funnel of user interest. (Disney+’s use of Lucasfilm to create the “Star Wars” franchise is a great example of how this can work). At a certain budget level, it makes sense to build a title with a streaming component, arguably under the “Batgirl” sticker price.
Warner has already learned that lesson with “Wonder Woman 1984” (2020) and “The Suicide Squad” (2021), two DC movies that received a day into release and streaming in the US due to pandemic theater closures and a desire to boost subscriber growth on HBO Max. According to data from Parrot, both films actually sustained exceptional American audience demand, which placed them in the top 2.7% of all film titles.
Marvel is now using its special presentation banner on Disney+ for strategic one-offs like “Werewolf by Night” and its upcoming “Guardians of the Galaxy” holiday special from Gunn. Again, at the right budget level, these well worn out make sense as opportunities to cover new ground within the franchise.
This approach can also extend to TV series, which allows DC to produce a steady stream of high-quality content for consumers to keep the DC brand in mind when they are not in theaters. For the past decade, a half-dozen DC series aired on The CW in a crossover-friendly “arrowverse”, which has been reduced to just two shows — “The Flash” and “Superman & Lois” — whose future is currently followed by The CW. is in doubt. It was recently sold to the budget-conscious Nexstar (which has indicated a willingness to scale back on the valuable scripted series).
But Warner Bros. may be less interested in pursuing Discovery’s dual DC strategy that embraces the big and small screens — though HBO Max recently dropped “Peacemaker,” Gunn’s “Suicide Squad” spinoff.
“For Zaslav, DC is a dramatic story,” said a former HBO Max executive. “We’ll enjoy ‘Peacemaker’ again, but I expect DC to focus a lot on the theatrical release and play a minor role on Max’s side.”
Gunn and Safran are well positioned to succeed, but as they unwind the complex web of legacy projects spinning new threads of their own, patience will be needed as they devise a multi-platform strategy. . Despite Zaslav and former Disney studio president Alan Horn’s reverence for Feige and the Marvel model, it would be fair for company owners to judge DC on its own merits as it enters this new phase.
“The DC brand is very different from Marvel,” Dergarabedian said. “Comparing them is like comparing The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. Both are rock and roll, but look at it from very different perspectives.”
