Author: Ryan Faughnder / Source: latimes.com
DC Entertainment’s top creative executive, Geoff Johns, is leaving his position, in the latest shake-up for the storied Warner Bros.-owned comic book publisher.
The studio on Monday said Johns — who has served as chief creative officer of DC Entertainment since 2010 and helped develop the studio’s film and TV superhero strategy — wanted to return his focus to writing.
Johns will become a full-time writer and producer for Warner Bros. and DC films and television shows, the company said.DC films triggered an overhaul at the Time Warner Inc.-owned studio several months ago. Former New Line Cinema executive Walter Hamada was put in charge of the DC movies in January after the exit of Jon Berg, Warner Bros. Pictures’ then-co-president of production.
The latest executive shuffle, first reported by the Hollywood Reporter, comes as much larger corporate changes loom. On Tuesday, a federal judge in Washington is expected to rule on AT&T Inc.’s $85-billion bid for Time Warner, which has been awaiting government approval.
Superhero movies are a key pillar of the studio’s strategy, along with the Harry Potter and animated Lego film franchises. DC’s decades-old library of such enduring characters as Wonder Woman, Aquaman and the Flash, fuels productions across multiple Warner Bros. businesses, including TV, video games and consumer products.
But in the theatrical film business, the imprint has struggled to compete with the success of Disney’s Marvel Studios in recent years.
Other than last summer’s hit “Wonder Woman,” starring Gal Gadot, Warner’s superhero movies have under-performed compared with their Disney rivals in the Marvel Cinematic Universe led by Kevin Feige.
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