True to their original promise, Warner Bros. has ordered a major shake-up of DC Films, beginning with the appointment of Walter Hamada.
Known for his tenure as the executive vice president of production over at New Line, where he fostered such instant classics as The Conjuring and It, Hamada has now been named president of DC Films, and will oversee Warner’s output of comic book movies henceforth.
The release and subsequent failure of Justice League is said to have prompted the internal overhaul, which has resulted in Geoff Johns and former DC Films head Jon Berg assuming entirely new roles. The former will work alongside Roy Lee (The LEGO Movie, It: Chapter Two), while Johns will reportedly hold an “advisory role” within the DC Extended Universe.
Here’s the official word from Warner Bros. group president, Toby Emmerich:
Walter is creative, resourceful, and committed to excellence, and will bring those qualities to his oversight of our superhero films. He’s a terrific production executive and served as an executive producer on two of the summer’s most popular films, New Line’s ‘IT’ and ‘Annabelle: Creation.’ I’m confident Walter and Geoff, working with our filmmaking partners, will deliver films that will resonate with both broad global audiences as well as DC fanboys and fangirls. Walter’s a great addition to the Warner Bros. Pictures team, and I look forward to working with him in his new post.
First reported by Variety, the addition of Walter Hamada comes as Warner Bros. looks to introduce more quality control over its big-screen efforts. And though the DCEU’s failings won’t be fixed overnight, introducing fresh blood is no bad thing, particularly with the likes of Aquaman, Shazam!, Wonder Woman 2 and Gotham City Sirens all gestating in various stages of production.
In related news, Courtenay Valenti (Harry Potter), who come on board last summer, will continue as Warner’s president of production at Warner Bros.
Closer to home, WB is seemingly prepping for the Blu-ray release of Justice League, after a leaked retailer listing indicated that the film’s home video launch will occur on March 13th.