Warner Bros.’ adopts a Dark Strategy

Because of the success of The Dark Knight and most of the superhero movies that have come out this summer, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that Warner Bros. has decided to focus more of its creative energies on developing its DC Comics properties. This course of action will concede with exploring the darker aspects of these characters as well. Warner Bros. Pictures Group President Jeff Robinov “wants his next pack of superhero movies to be bathed in the same brooding tone as “The Dark Knight.” Creatively, he sees exploring the evil side to characters as the key to unlocking some of Warner Bros.’ DC properties. “We’re going to try to go dark to the extent that the characters allow it,” he says. That goes for the company’s Superman franchise as well. What’s even more interesting about this Wall Street Journal article (which I suggest you read in full) is the news that Superman is getting a reboot. I always thought Superman Returns was nothing really special (unlike Singer’s The Usual Suspects and X-Men 2) and I am elated that it is going to be done all over again. This time, whoever directs it, please: more action, more original story and less homage. The final significant piece of information in the WSJ article is that Warner Bros has taken a well-conceived page out of Marvel Entertainment Inc.’s Marvel Studios’ playbook. Warner Bros. has quietly adopted Marvel’s model of releasing a single film for each character, and then using those movies and their sequels to build up to a multicharacter film. “Along those lines, we have been developing every DC character that we own,” Mr. Robinov says. So what do think of this new strategy? Will it bare fruit?

Source: Wall Street Journal

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