Greg Silverman, Warner Bros. head of film production, recently did an interview with The Hollywood Reporter and discussed DC Comics’ movie strategy, direction, and competition with Marvel Studios.
Marvel has gotten more than a head start on DC Comics, and is running roughshod over the box office with their ever-expanding universe. Outside of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy, DC Comics has struggled to gain any traction with quality films. They have just recently kickstarted their own cinematic universe, with 2013’s Man of Steel and the upcoming Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice leading into Wonder Woman films, Justice League films, and beyond. Regardless of what is in store, DC Comics has a long road to matching Marvel’s prowess with fans.
Silverman discussed Warner Bros. strategy with The Hollywood Reporter, and their strategy to differ from Marvel in order to separate their universe:
“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.”
In this statement, Silverman is referring to Marvel being more of a machine, and less films with unique identities from individuals. It’s a nice approach, but the directors must be right for the part for the film to work. One of the other issues people have had with Warner Bros. approach to the DC Comics films is the idea of bringing in several screenwriters to compete with each other for films. Silverman explained that strategy:
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.
Silverman delved much deeper into Warner Bros. approach to the DC Comics universe. It may be a tough task to compete with Marvel, but perhaps the play here is not to compete, but be different. There is a very real possibility that fatigue could eventually set in with the Marvel stories at about the time DC Comics hit their stride. Then again, DC could simply end up being the SEGA Dreamcast of this arms race when all is said and done.
You can read the entire interview here.
