Geoff Johns Now In Charge of DCEU

After the disappointing reception that Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice received from audiences and critics alike, Warner Bros. has made its biggest move yet in order to put the DCEU on the right track. Their latest move puts DC Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns and DC executive vice-president Jon Berg in charge of bringing the comic book adaptations to the big screen.

Photo by comicbookmovie.com

Geoff Johns has been involved in all of the DC projects since Man of Steel, but now this latest move puts him at the top. With Johns' vast comic book knowledge and understanding of the DC characters, fans can't help but think this is a step in the right direction. Berg, on the other hand, has worked on Batman v. Superman, Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman and Justice League. Both men are also connected to Ben Affleck, who has become an executive producer for the Justice League film. Johns has been writing the new stand alone Batman film alongside Affleck, and Berg worked with Affleck on Argo and on Affleck's upcoming film Live By Night. This is the one project that audiences are very excited about since Affleck's portrayal of Batman/Bruce Wayne was one aspect of the film that many enjoyed. Also, his abilities behind the camera should give anyone reason to believe that he's the right person to be in charge of the project. Affleck has written films such as The Town, Gone Baby Gone, and Good Will Hunting, as well as directed the Oscar-winner Argo.

Now, in broader context, the move of putting Johns and Berg in charge of the DCEU is an attempt to duplicate what Marvel has accomplished with Kevin Feige. What Feige has done with the MCU has been incredible to say the least. Being an expert on the source material of these films, as well as knowing how to craft a good story, Feige knows when a film is ready to be green-lit or when it has to go back to development. That is a problem that has plagued the DC franchise. It seems like a lot of their films do not get that critical eye, therefore getting the reception that Batman v. Superman received.

In regards to other DC films slated for release in the coming year, the studio has been making moves behind the camera for those releases as well. One of the major moves spoken of earlier was the addition of Ben Affleck as executive producer for Justice League. Then, The Flash director Seth Grahame-Smith and Warner Bros. parted ways, saying that they wanted a more experienced director. And finally, Johns' involvement in post-production for Suicide Squad led to his new role in the DCEU. It had been reported that the film was undergoing "major additional photography," and reshoots. David Ayer mentioned that it was for a new action sequence in the film.

What this tells me is that the studios acknowledge that they have been underperforming. These moves hope to be a step in the right direction and I believe they are. The upcoming releases look very promising, especially Wonder Woman from what Patty Jenkins said after production wrapped on the film. With Johns and Berg overseeing these films, I think these films will appear as a more cohesive body of work.