Last Updated on February 15, 2022 by Lil Ginge
DC Films is the official film production company behind the movies featuring characters from DC Comics and DC Entertainment. It is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Pictures Group, which is owned by WarnerMedia.
The American-owned film company was founded on November 3, 2018, by Geoff Johns and Jon Berg with its headquarters at 4000 Warner Boulevard in Burbank, California. It was created in the wake of the failure of the Warner Bros. Pictures film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, directed by Zack Snyder.
Currently run by executives Walter Hamada, President of DC Films as well as Chantal Nong, Vice President of Production, DC Films has overseen a number of successful DC comics-based productions and has a full slate of upcoming films.
The History of DC Films Production Company
After the release of Snyder’s Batman v Superman, the world of DC comics on film was a mess. The film was not a “flop” per se but was critically panned with a Rotten Tomato critics score of 29% and an audience score of 63%. The movie also grossed below expectations at just $873.6 million globally, considering it was the first film ever to feature both Superman and Batman in the same movie.
In response to this perceived failure, Warner Bros. founded DC Films to consolidate and fix the mess that was DC on film. DC Films was created with Berg and DC Comics Chief Content Officer Geoff Johns at the helm. The hope was for DC to better compete with Disney’s wildly successful Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), their counterpart to the world of superhero comics in the movies.
One way DC Films was to differ from the MCU was that while Marvel was run and creatively controlled by a master producer in Kevin Feige, the President of Marvel Studios, DC Film would still have a director-driven mandate. That meant that the individual directors of each film would retain control over most aspects of casting, the film’s design, the story, and more elements of the movie.
Berg was selected as President due to his previous work on DC superhero films including Batman v Superman, Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman, and Justice League. Meanwhile, Geoff Johns was a longtime comic book writer previously involved with DC Television. He also initially helped co-write Ben Affleck’s The Batman film before it was scrapped in favor of the Matt Reeves production.
In January 2018, Warner Bros. announced that WB executive Walter Hamada would become President of DC Films. Hamada would oversee upcoming DC films. He would essentially replace Berg and Johns, who Warner Bros. partially attributed the failures of the Justice League movie to. Hamada had been a production executive at New Line Cinema for a decade and was responsible for developing films like It and The Conjuring.
DC Films – Previously Released Movies
Number | Title | Release Date | Director | Co-Production Companies | Notes |
1. | Suicide Squad | August 5, 2016 | David Ayer | RatPac-Dune Entertainment, Atlas Entertainment | |
2. | Wonder Woman | June 2, 2017 | Patty Jenkins | RatPac-Dune Entertainment, Atlas Entertainment, Cruel and Unusual Films, Tencent Pictures, Wanda Pictures | |
3. | Justice League | November 17, 2017 | Zack Snyder / Joss Whedon | RatPac-Dune Entertainment, Access Entertainment, Atlas Entertainment, Cruel and Unusual Films | |
4. | Aquaman | December 21, 2018 | James Wan | The Safran Company | |
5. | Shazam! | April 5, 2019 | David F. Sanberg | New Line Cinema, The Safran Company | |
6. | Joker | October 5, 2019 | Todd Phillips | Village Roadshow Pictures, BRON Creative, Joint Efforts Productions | |
7. | Birds of Prey | February 7, 2020 | Cathy Yan | LuckyChap Entertainment, Kroll & Co. Entertainment, Clubhouse Productions | |
8. | Wonder Woman 1984 | Decembe r25, 2020 | Patty Jenkins | Atlas Entertainment, The Stone Quarry | |
9. | Zack Snyder’s Justice League | March 18, 2021 | Zack Snyder | Access / Dune Entertainment, Atlas Entertainment, The Stone Quarry | HBO Max Exclusive |
10. | The Suicide Squad | August 5, 2021 | James Gunn | Atlas Entertainment, The Safran Company |
Upcoming DC Films
Number | Title | Release Date | Director | Co-Production Companies | Notes |
11 | The Batman | March 4, 2022 | Matt Reeves | 6th & Idaho, | |
12 | Black Adam | July 29, 2022 | Jaume Collet-Serra | New Line Cinema, Seven Bucks Productions, FlynnPicture Co. | |
13 | The Flash | November 4, 2022 | Andy Muschietti | The Disco Factory, Double Dream | |
14. | Aquaman and the Lost Kinddom | December 16, 2022 | James Wan | Atomic Monster Productions, The Safran Company | |
15 | Batgirl | 2022 | Adil El Arbi & Bilall Fallah | Warner Bros. Pictures, Burr! Productions | HBO Max Exclusive |
16 | Shazam! Fury of the Gods | June 2, 2023 | David F. Sandberg | New Line Cinema, The Safran Company, Seven Bucks Productions, Mad Ghost Productions | |
17. | Blue Beetle | August 18, 2023 | Angel Manuel Soto |
DC Movies Currently In Development
- Black Canary (HBO Max Exclusive)
- Static Shock
- Green Lantern Corps
- Supergirl
- Zatanna
- Untitled Superman film
- Wonder Woman 3 (untitled)
- Hourman film (untitled)
- Joker 2 (untitled)
DC Films: Television Series
Series | Air Debut | Showrunner | Co-Production Companies | Original Network | Notes |
Peacemaker | January 13, 2022 | James Gunn | The Safran Company, Troll Court Entertainment | HBO Max | The Suicide Squad spinoff; airing now |
Untitled The Batman: Gotham PD show | TBD | Joe Barton | 6th & Idaho | HBO Max | In development; The Batman spinoff |
Constantine | TBD | TBD | Bad Robot Productions | HBO Max | In development |
Justice League Dark | TBD | TBD | Bad Robot Productions | HBO Max | In development |
Madame X | TBD | TBD | Bad Robot Productions | HBO Max | In development |
Untitled: The Batman: Penguin | TBD | TBD | 6th & Idaho | HBO Max | In development |
If you found this article helpful, check out the rest of my articles on the upcoming DC Films production The Batman.
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