Without a doubt the past two years have been momentous for Warner Bros and DC; after the catastrophic failures of 'Justice League' and 'Batman v Superman', then the phenomenal success of 'Aquaman' and 'Wonder Woman' the question remains as to how they will move ahead with their future projects. Will they continue with individual films along focusing on concrete characters from the DC comics? Or will they attempt to expand their DC Extended Universe with collaborations between superheroes? Tom Emmerich, the president of the Warner Bros Picture Group, recently set all doubts to rest in a recent interview.
"We all feel like we've turned a corner now," Emmerich told The Hollywood Reporter. "We're playing by the DC playbook, which is very different than the Marvel playbook. We are far less focused on a shared universe. We take it one movie at a time. Each movie is its own equation and own creative entity. If you had to say one thing about us, it's that it always has to be about the directors."
If he had not made it clear enough, Emmerich highlighted the fact that Warner Bros plans for DC were not going to imitate the Marvel world. He said the their goals for 2019 were "to produce, market and distribute the most diverse slate we can and not play the Disney-Fox game. Disney-Fox will clearly remain the No. 1 studio". It seems that we can be expecting fewer collaborations between DC superheroes, but with sensations like 'Aquaman', who can complain?
The Successes of DC
The greatest successes of Warner and DC in recent years have undoubtedly been 'Aquaman' and 'Wonder Woman', both of which tell individual stories and do not attempt to imitate the Marvel Cinematic Universe with ambitious crossovers. Of course it is therefore no surprise that Warner should wish to distance themselves from the Disney studios and highlight the distinct focus of their superhero projects.
'Aquaman' officially became the most highly grossing film in DC history, making ver $1 billion. The success of the film, directed by James Wan and starring Jason Momoa and Amber Heard, was an unexpected sensation, sweeping box offices for weeks in a row. Perhaps we can expect a sequel on the way...
