Warner Bros. announced on Thursday that New Line production executive Walter Hamada was promoted and will now be a president of DC films production. Hamada is credited with bringing hits like It (2017) and the Conjuring franchise to the big screen and the success they turned out to be.
The move comes after Warner Bros. replaced Jon Berg and Geoff Johns as the heads of DC films. While Berg joins Roy Lee (The Lego Movie) as a production partner, Johns will remain DC’s president and chief creative officer, while providing creative guidance for the movie division.
“Walter is creative, resourceful, and committed to excellence, and will bring those qualities to his oversight of our superhero films,” said Warner Bros Group president Toby Emmerich. “He’s a terrific production executive and served as an executive producer on two of the summer’s most popular films, New Line’s It and Annabelle: Creation. I’m confident Walter and Geoff, working with our filmmaking partners, will deliver films that will resonate with both broad global audiences as well as DC fanboys and fangirls. Walter’s a great addition to the Warner Bros Pictures team, and I look forward to working with him in his new post.”
Warner Bros. wasn’t capable to replicate the success Marvel Studios had with their own superhero movies. While Wonder Woman, starring Gal Gadot, was both critical and commercial success, other DC superhero movies did well at the box office but were universally panned by critics. This especially goes for the much anticipated Justice League movie, which is still looking to break even at the box office, while receiving negative reviews. With Hamada at the helm of DC film, things might change for better, something every DC fan hopes for.
