After “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” was panned by critics and fans alike, Warner Bros. is embarking on a major shakeup among its executives.
The studio is handing the reins to DC Entertainment movies over to current Executive VP Jon Berg and Geoff Johns, TheWrap has learned.
Berg will be president of DC Films, while Johns will remain DC Entertainment’s COO, but also jointly run DC Films.
DC Films had previously been a production banner within Warner Bros, but it will now exist as a formal movie division with the aim of clarifying the complicated greenlight process for filmmakers and producers.
Berg will continue to report to Greg Silverman and Johns to DC Entertainment head Diane Nelson.
The shuffling of executive roles at the Burbank studio comes after a string of recent disappointments, chiefly the underperformance of “Batman v Superman” at the box office and its cold reception from fans.
The move also comes after it was announced at CinemaCon last month that Ben Affleck is now an executive producer on the upcoming Justice League films in addition to starring in the series.
“I’m also excited we’ll be working with filmmakers like Ben Affleck in a standalone ‘Batman,’” Warner Bros. Entertainment chairman Kevin Tsujihara said.
Affleck is set to reprise his role as Batman in this summer’s “Suicide Squad” and in Snyder’s two-part “The Justice League,” scheduled for 2017 and 2019.
“Batman v Superman” suffered a devastating 69.1 percent drop in its second weekend at the box office last month, raking in just $51.8 million after debuting to a whopping $166 million.
According to Box Office Mojo, the only other comic book-based films that saw bigger second-weekend drops were 2010’s “Jonah Hex” and 2003’s “Hulk” (both 69.7 percent), although they didn’t have quite the opening weekend “Batman v Superman” had.
Directed by Zack Snyder, the DC Comics superhero epic stars Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg and Diane Lane.