The major shake-ups at Warner Bros. Discovery come as a shock to nobody as it seemed like the company has long been trying to get things together. The newly named CEO, David Zaslav, has been sorting things out swiftly as hes gone out with the old and in with the new. Recent news of Toby Emmerich‘s exit has brought news of another development at WBD. The company has DC as a priority, a brand with an incredible amount of potential that they felt has been squandered in the past few years, and looks to be reaching out to a familiar face for help.
The Hollywood Reporter shared that Zaslav reportedly reached out to co-writer and director of 2019’s Joker film, Todd Phillips, to ask him to get a bit more involved over at DC Entertainment. His film was a resounding hit for the studio, scoring over a billion at the box office, shockingly outgrossing Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker on a $60+ million budget. The role is purely that of an advisory role with Phillips not currently set to serve in an executive role at the studio.
This is a bit of an odd move for the studio to make, while Joker was indeed incredibly profitable for the studio, its not particulary the direction they should be moving in with the brand. It was a story seperate from the mainline DC Extended Universe, creating yet another earth in the ever expanding multiverse within the shared universe. THR even states that while Phillips has quite limited knowledge on the DC Universe, Zaslav and Phillips have reached an understanding on the situation with the current state of DC.
This is an interesting move for Warner Bros. Discovery but not one that could have a great effect on whats to come as if things pan out, it is only an advisory role within DC Entertainment.
Source: THR
