To get a hint of how underwhelming Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice's $870M box office after seven weeks really is, just note that Captain America: Civil War has already scorched it with $950M after two weeks. Yeah, that's pretty ugly. In the wake of negative reviews we've seen Warner Bros. tightening their grip on Zack Snyder as he begins shooting Justice League, and part of that was giving Ben Affleck an executive-producer credit so he has more power on the film's creative progress. But it was only a matter of time before a bigger shakeup occurred, and that time is here.
Warner Bros. has placed DC Comics guru Geoff Johns as co-runner of the newly-established DC Films, alongside VP Jon Berg. Johns maintains his position as Chief Creative Officer at DC Entertainment, meaning he'll be juggling two heavy-duty jobs on top of the regular monthly comics he writes. How he can possibly do all of that is anybody's guess, but my thought is that he won't be writing very many comics much longer. Part of the reason Johns was given this new title was the problems with Suicide Squad, which recently underwent reshoots to add more action. That's pretty much a "make or break" movie. If that is seen as a failure the entire franchise could come crumbling down.
One of the big problems the DCU has faced is that Zack Snyder has been the sole creative voice, and while he has his strengths managing an entire franchise is not one of them. Clearly. While Marvel has always had Kevin Feige steering the ship, the DCU hasn't had anybody who can take on a similar role. This move is probably an attempt to change that, and you'll find few who will complain about giving Johns that job. He's been responsible for many of DC Comics' best stories, while also helping to build their TV universe through his work on The Flash and Arrow. Berg also comes with a great deal of experience, having worked with Affleck on Argo, Live by Night, and 'Batman v Superman'.
THR's report does note, however, that Johns and Berg won't have the same autonomous power that Feige wields.Their job is to help unify the DCU while keeping the "filmmaker-driven" approach the studio prefers. Both will become producers on Justice League, while Johns remains a co-writer on Affleck's standalone Batman film.
So while imperfect, this is still a step in the right direction. Johns knows these characters inside and out, and if given the room to be maneuver he should be able to help set the DCU on the right path. With Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Cyborg, and other films already confirmed but with little clear-cut direction, Johns and Berg are going to be very very busy.
