Producer Charles Roven admits that overseeing the entire lineup of DC Films in development is just too much to handle for one person. Despite not taking off the way it was expected to, the Warner Bros.’ superhero franchise continues to march forward with a new batch of movies supposedly in the lineup. While there are currently only three films (Aquaman, Shazam! and Wonder Woman 2) with confirmed release dates, there is a slate of projects that are in several stages of development that are just waiting for their respective turn on the spotlight.

Producing almost all Warner Bros./DC films from the critically acclaimed The Dark Knight Trilogy from director Christopher Nolan until last year’s Justice League, Roven has been involved with a mixed bag of films with regard to critical and massive reception. But his experience on both sides of the spectrum makes him a fitting person to continue overseeing the slew of movies that the DC Universe has on its docket. That was the plan until a mini internal shake-up (different from the most recent one that introduced  IT and The Conjuring producer Walter Hamada as the new president of production of DC Films) relegated him to only working on the sequels for the ones he produced. Now, the 68-year-old explains why he was taken out of the new properties and why it isn’t as bad as many would think.

Engaging in a Q&A session with Deadline over the weekend, Roven briefly talked about his changed role in the DC Universe and how it is for the better considering the number of projects that the company is working on:

While Roven’s comment is understandable and disseminating workload to other people to make sure that each project is given the focus and attention it deserves, it’s not impossible to actually have one single person produce all movies in a franchise.  Marvel Studios’ president Kevin Feige is doing just that, serving as an executive producer for 17 movies and counting. And we know that the billing he has isn’t just a name credit, it’s obvious that he’s very hands-on on every MCU project that they roll out considering that he also do press activities for each flick. The big difference is that Feige and the MCU are 17 movies deep and running like a well oiled machine, even building an all but dedicated studio space near Atlanta, GA, making the juggling of multiple productions far easier. Meanwhile, DC Films isn’t quite as autonomous as Marvel Studios, meaning the chain of command can (and does) get too involved in production. Also, DC movies often shoot on site instead of working out of a central studio space, meaning anyone producing more than one at the same time will likely need to do some globe trotting to keep up.

“I think my role for the moment is to focus on those sequels but, you know, a couple of years ago, I was a producer on all of the Justice League movies and their individual heroes movies, but it became very clear that in order to be a producer on those movies in the timeline that Warner Bros. wanted, it was way too big a job for one producer to oversee.”

Having said that, spreading the work across different producers could be something that would work in the budding franchise. As previously mentioned, it allows each EP to focus his/her efforts and attention on just one film, ensuring that it is on schedule, within the budget, and of quality. It also gives every project its own vibe and keeps it from seeming too formulaic – a criticism that the Marvel movies have had, considering that Feige has had his hands on every project.

MORE: DC Films’ Rumored Slate Includes Man of Steel 2 & Nightwing

Source: Heroic Hollywood

  • Wonder Woman 2 Release Date: 2020-12-25 Aquaman Release Date: 2018-12-21 Shazam! Release Date: 2019-04-05