Talk about eerily perfect timing. We just ran a piece here on the reasons why Warner Bros.' DC films will never outdo Marvel, and basically it boiled down to leadership. Quick, tell me who the guy is spearheading WB's DC franchise? You might think it's Zack Snyder, and maybe to some extent that's true, but he's not THE guy. There is no central figure. Now everybody knows Kevin Feige is the guiding hand for Marvel. What he says goes, and he gathers people who help bring his long-term vision to reality. Warner Bros. doesn't have that, and now THR has released a story that shows just how badly they need one.
Case in point, the studio's approach to the Wonder Woman and Aquaman franchises has been single out. We know that multiple writers were hired to pen separate screenplays for both films, and eventually one will be chosen and given to the director, whoever they may be. In the case of Wonder Woman it's Patty Jenkins, who came aboard to replace Michelle MacLaren after she left due to "creative differences". There were five writers at one time trying to chart a course for Wonder Woman, which is crazy. And as for Aquaman, which still doesn't have a director, three writers, including the previously-rumored Jeff Nichols (Take Shelter), have been writing scripts which are now being held because WB has no plan for the character.
It's almost as if WB has decided internal competition is better than internal collaboration. From Snyder's Batman v Superman to David Ayer's Suicide Squad, the films are basically left solely to the director's devices. There's no common goal, nothing to reach except an eventual Justice League film. As for how to get there, that much is a total mess. As one inside source said in regards to Wonder Woman, it's about “throwing shit against the wall to see what stuck.”What WB needs to do is find a middle ground. The good thing about Marvel is that they always have a clear path forward. Even when certain movies don't really work, there is still the ability to change course because of Feige's overall framework. Iron Man 2 may not have been Marvel's best film, but it was still an important step in the development of Tony Stark and ultimately The Avengers. WB gives directors freedom to make their kind of film, which Marvel doesn't do (seeya Edgar Wright), but too much freedom can be chaotic.
Not having a clear leader is going to be a problem at some point, but we won't know it until one of their movies tanks. As an example, look at what happened when Green Lantern failed a few years ago. It was meant to be the start of this whole thing we're seeing now, but instead there was a massive setback. It didn't have to be that way, and a clear direction could have prevented it.
Right now it's too early to know if WB's strategy will succeed or fail. Batman v Superman is going to be huge, but is Suicide Squad nearly as certain? And what will happen if it's not?
