Warner Bros. Discovery Poach Marvel Veterans To Add Spark To Superman And Other Superheroes

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc WBD appointed a veteran director-producer team of James Gunn and Peter Safran to the new roles of Co-Chair and CEOs of DC Studios effective on November 1.
Gunn and Safran have extensive experience with the superhero genre, bringing some of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and DC Universe's most popular characters to life.
Their success stories included Marvel's blockbuster Guardians of the Galaxy, and DC's highest-grossing movie, Aquaman; Shazam!; The Suicide Squad; and the HBO Max original, live-action series Peacemaker.
Also Read: Did Black Adam Save DC Comics? How The Rock Could Revive Warner Brothers Stock
The DC Studios movie franchise includes a stable of valuable superhero properties, including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman.
WBD CEO David Zaslav has said he wants to put in place a 10-year-plan to rebuild DC and make it better compete with Walt Disney Co DIS Marvel Studios, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Gunn and Safran will oversee DC's titles across multiple formats, including theatrical releases, television series, and releases for Warner Discovery's HBOMax streaming service.
The last few years have been chaotic for the DC franchises. Some tentpole movies, including 2017's "Justice League" and 2019's "Shazam!" have underperformed at the box office.
Marvel superhero movies have, on average, consistently outperformed DC's at the box office over the past two decades.
Walter Hamada, who has led the DC movie division since 2018, will step down.
In an August earnings call, Zaslav praised the success of Marvel Studios and its chief, Kevin Feige, saying the company seeks to put a similar structure for DC.
Price Action: WBD shares traded lower by 0.52% at $13.50 in the premarket on the last check Wednesday.

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