Warner Bros. Pictures Names Walter Hamada To Oversee DC Films Production
DC Comics fans can breathe a sigh of relief. Warner Bros. Pictures has named Walter Hamada as DC Films' new president.
DC Films Struggle
Hamada's hiring comes at a particular time in the DC Films franchise. The film company received mixed reviews for its earliest superhero ensemble films such as Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad. Despite the breakthrough performances by Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman in Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice and Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad, the films did not receive universal acclaim by both fans and critics.
Both DC Films and Warner Bros. Pictures thought that they would turn the DC Extended Universe around after Gadot's headlining turn as Wonder Woman in the 2017 Patty Jenkins-directed superhero film. Wonder Woman broke box office records, made Gadot a household name and one of Entertainment Weekly's top entertainers of 2017.
Justice League Disappoints
Then, along came Justice League. For decades, fans patiently waited to the Justice League gathering on the silver screen.
Justice League brought superstar potentials around Jason Momoa and Ezra Miller, thanks to their respective fantastic performances as Aquaman and the Flash. However, the film struggled to meet Warner Bros. Pictures' high expectations.
Thanks to the disappointing box office reports, DC Films decided to do a major company reorganization. Former DC Films production leader Jon Berg was reassigned to work with The Lego Movie's Roy Lee.
Walter Hamada's Background
Warner Bros. Pictures handed the keys to DC Films to entertainment executive Walter Hamada. Hamada helped revitalize the film conglomerate's New Line Cinema line.
Thanks to Hamada, several horror franchises such as Annabelle, The Conjuring, and It found their target audience who kept coming back to theatres to be scared. Hamada is expected to work with DC Comics' chief creative officer Geoff Johns, who will help Hamada learn about DC Comics' diverse catalog of characters.
"Walter is creative, resourceful, and committed to excellence, and will bring those qualities to his oversight of our superhero films. I'm confident Walter and Geoff, working with our filmmaking partners, will deliver films that resonate with both broad global audiences as well as DC fanboys and fangirls," said Toby Emmerich, Warner Bros. president and chief content officer.
Both Hamada and Johns might need to pick up the pace as Marvel Studios prepares to unleash a plethora of superhero films, including the highly anticipated Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War movies sometime this year.
