Warner Bros. Exec Talks DC Movie Strategy Including Multiple Screenwriters And Tone

The Internet has made a sport of questioning how Warner Bros. is handling their DC properties. First fans scoffed at Man of Steel. Next they hated Ben Affleck's casting as Batman. Many felt a Batman v Superman movie was a rush. Ditto for Justice League. Then there was Jared Leto's Joker make-up, the loss of Michelle MacLaren as Wonder Woman director and the fact they're using multiple screenwriters to figure out many of these movies.  It's like Superhero Movie Whack-A-Mole, there's always something to hit.

So it's nice for one of the people responsible for those decisions to finally get his say. That would be the head of film production at Warner Bros., Greg Silverman. He, along with marketing president Sue Kroll and CEO Kevin Tsujihara are the three people most directly responsible for green lighting movies at Warner Bros. In a new interview, Silverman explained the strategy of having multiple screenwriters tackle some of the DC movies, how their DC movies will attempt to be different from Marvel's and more. Read the Warner Bros DC movies quotes below.

The Hollywood Reporter talked to Silverman about the Warner Bros DC movies, and it's a fascinating read. He talks Fantastic Beasts, Pan, Entourage, American Sniper and more. Head there to read it all, but we're gonna concentrate on the superheroes.

First up, THR asked how Warner Bros. plans to differentiate DC from Marvel:

We have a great strategy for the DC films, which is to take these beloved characters and put them in the hands of master filmmakers and make sure they all coordinate with each other. You'll see the difference when you see Batman v. Superman, Suicide Squad, Justice League and all the things that we are working on.

Next, they asked if the dark nature of the Batman v Superman trailer would be "a trademark of a DC superhero film in the post-Dark Knight era?"

There is intensity and a seriousness of purpose to some of these characters. The filmmakers who are tackling these properties are making great movies about superheroes; they aren't making superhero movies. And when you are trying to make a good movie, you tackle interesting philosophies and character development. There's also humor, which is an important part.

They then talked about Wonder Woman, and no specifics are given about MacLaren's departure. Just that Patty Jenkins – who took over – was their second choice and was glad to do it.

Finally, the THR asked about the strategy of having multiple screenwriters competitively tackle the same project:

Every project is different. On some projects, we have multiple writers working together. In some cases, we put writers together who have never been a team together. And sometimes, there is only one writer whose voice is right. In the case of Wonder Woman, the right approach was to have writers pitching different scenes within the framework we created.

Some more on that...

Correct [each writer doesn't know what the other is up to]. They came to me and said they wanted to try this approach. I don't know how much collaboration and noncollaboration was going on. Treating writers well is a massive priority at this studio. I'd be very shocked if writers weren't treated with respect and grace.

Again, read the full interview here.

Silverman obviously knows what he's talking about and has strong answers to these questions, but I think until we see some product, it'll be hard for him to spin the focus on the positive side. If Batman v Superman comes out, is amazing, and fans go – "Okay, we trust these people," I think they'll cut some more slack. At the moment though, I'd imagine the skepticism continues.

What are your thoughts on these quotes?