Geoff Johns & Jon Berg To Run DC Films
Geoff Johns says he wants to bring “hope & optimism” to DC movies
UPDATE: Early reports were erroneous of Geoff Johns specifically saying he wanted to bring “hope and optimism” to DC Films. Johns didn’t actually comment on his new role beyond saying “you can connect the dots”. When he was talking about “hope and optimism” , he was referring to what DC Comics “Rebirth” event would bring about. But given that’s what he wants for DC Comics, he probably wants the same for DC Films.
In the latest attempt to drastically right the ship of DC comic book films, Warner Bros. has officially created a division called “DC Films” (I think that means we can assume the DCEU as we know it is dead and buried, though we may still see some remnants in Suicide Squad and Wonder Woman). And this new division will be headed up by Geoff Johns and Jon Berg. Geoff Johns is there obviously for his comic book expertise and Jon Berg is there as someone with plenty of movie experience. Together they will oversee the whole DC film universe, acting together in the same way Kevin Feige does for Marvel.
While Zack Snyder is still perplexingly the director on Justice League: Part One, this move giving Geoff Johns a lot more power (he’s also been named a producer on Justice League along with Berg), seems a move to further minimize any “vision” Snyder would have for the project. In fact, Geoff Johns spoke about the news to a room full of reporters today, and kept using the words “hope and optimism” repeatedly, pretty much the exact opposite of Snyder’s dark vision of DC films.
Next: Will Zack Snyder Learn From Batman v Superman?
Considering both Suicide Squad and Wonder Woman are pretty much in the can, we won’t really see the effects of this until next year’s Justice League: Part One. This can only be considered good news, but the real question is will Justice League just be this weird middle ground between Geoff Johns’ motto of “hope and optimism” and Snyder’s depressing grimdark? I mean, look at Snyder’s resume, whether you like his films or not, he’s never made anything that could be remotely described as hopeful and optimistic. So what will Justice League even end up being then? Will it try to basically wash away everything that happened in Batman v Superman? One thing is for sure, 2017 will be really interesting for the newly formed DC films, and it also may be make or break for them. I hope Geoff Johns truly is the right guy for the job.