Credit: Warner Bros.A new president for DC?
Leadership changes happen more often than people would think. Presidents and CEOs come and go, people like Bob Iger and Bob Chapek are in and out of the chair before people can blink, and now, DC is shaking things up. People were shocked when DC Studios made their first big change, installing Marvel alumni James Gunn and DC producer Peter Safran as co-CEOs. Now, there’s more change on the way.
It’s a change that they’ve seemingly made before as well. James Gunn had a markedly different style of storytelling than most of his peers at Marvel Studios. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) was a huge departure from the formula that had been used for every other Marvel movie to that point and met with amazing success, leading to a franchise that, with this new title coming out this week, will have run almost an entire decade.
Fans of DC have been a little shocked, and some a little upset about the decisions that Gunn has made since being hired as co-CEO along with Peter Safran at DC Studios. The two have departed from the DC Extended Universe, branching out into a completely new DC Universe, causing many fans to lash out, calling for Gunn’s dismissal more than once.
While it’s looking like Gunn and Safran are here to stay, DC is shaking things up in a different area. CBR Reported on a new development, not with DC Studios, but with the original DC Comics, and it seems like they’re following the same pattern they did with the studio, albeit on a different timeline.
According to the report, Jim Lee has just been promoted from within DC’s ranks to be the new president of DC Comics. CBR explains that Lee got his start with Marvel, working on such iconic characters as The Punisher and The X-Men, producing, alongside others, one of the best-selling Marvel comics of all time. Lee eventually made his way to DC Comics in the late 90s and has been with them ever since.
Another interesting thing to note in CBR’s coverage is that James Gunn has already stated that he and Lee have been in discussion about how best to integrate characters and storylines from the comics to film and streaming series. This kind of cooperation will be key if DC hopes to compete with, or even eclipse, Marvel one day: continuity from comics and graphic novels will encourage diehard fans of the franchise to turn out to the theater in droves!
Related: Arrowverse Star Wants to Return In James Gunn’s DCU
With both Lee and Gunn’s previous Marvel experience, it seems like Warner Bros Discovery is taking advantage of the expertise provided by that successful company and applying it to their own franchise. Will DC be able to take the lessons Lee and Gunn learned from their Marvel days and create a comparably successful company?
What do you think about this leadership change? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments below!