Warner Bros. Discovery Might Have Just Given DC Fans An Unexpected Gift
The DC Extended Universe has had a tumultuous history thus far, both critically and financially. This all seemingly culminated with the release of "Justice League" in 2017. What should have been a monumental team-up superhero film that catapulted the DCEU into the next phase of its own particular brand of blockbuster ended up being a massive disappointment. "Justice League" made $655 million at the global box office, which would be a huge success for many other films, but is lackluster compared to its $300 million budget (per The Numbers) and the fact that "Avengers: Infinity War" came out the following year to the tune of over $2 billion at the worldwide box office. On top of that, "Justice League" garnered a decidedly not-great 39% critic's score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Since that time, the DCEU has opted for more stand-alone films, as well as comic book movies and shows that take place completely outside of the main universe. This has also led to some mixed results when it comes to monetary and critical success, but fans have been wondering what exactly the next universe-level step is for the floundering comic book world. During a recent earnings call, Warner Bros. Discovery gave some hints at the future of the DCEU, but they also offered viewers a potentially unexpected gift of sorts.
DC appears to now be its own studio
During the Warner Bros. Discovery earnings call, the company posted a reporting structure graph, and, as those tuning in like Twitter user @DCBreakingNews, were quick to notice, DC was listed as its own studio, rather than as a Warner Bros. Discovery IP. If this holds true, it would make it a similar structure to how Disney has Marvel set up with its own Marvel Studios. This would seemingly allow a dedicated group of producers and creatives to function solely for the purpose of crafting and producing DC films and shows, which is definitely a big deal.
It's also not exactly that surprising a development, either. Back in April, Variety reported that Warner Bros. Discovery was looking to change the way they approached DC films now that the two companies had merged. The report stated that those in charge wanted to make DC something of its own independent source of content. Crafting a studio around the IP seems to be a pretty sure-fire way to accomplish such a goal. This is especially true if they want to finally have a chance of competing with Marvel, who has already utilized this strategy. This also works very well alongside Warner Bros. Discovery's freshly announced 10-year plan for their DC films.