DC Won't Follow Marvel Lead and Unify Universe Across Movies and TV, Says President

Diane Nelson (Getty Images)

By Cynthia Littleton

The big boss of DC Entertainment is committed to keeping the story arcs of its many characters separate across its film, TV and digital properties, in contrast to the singular universe approach taken by its biggest rival, Marvel.

Diane Nelson outlined her company’s creative strategy and the growing components of Warner Bros.’ DC Entertainment division during a wide-ranging conversation Wednesday at Variety’s Entertainment and Technology Summit, held at the Four Seasons Beverly Hills. Nelson’s mouthful of a title — president of DC Entertainment and WB Consumer Products and president/chief content officer of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment — underscores how important DC has become to fueling business throughout Warner Bros.

DC has a big year in store at the box office in 2016 with the highly anticipated Batman v Superman coming in March followed Suicide Squad later in the year — the first wave of 10 DC-branded movies expected to hit over the next five years. But she emphasized that there is no push for creative crossover among the films or with DC’s plentiful TV series, including CW’s The Flash, Arrow and the upcoming DC’s Legends of Tomorrow; CBS’ Supergirl; and Fox’s Gotham

DC leaders have opted to keep its character worlds highly distinct in order to offer maximum creative flexibility to the writers, producers and directors that Warner Bros. works with in translating new and vintage DC properties in all manner of media. Creatives would otherwise be limited in tailoring projects for specific buyers. She noted the wide tonal differences between Gotham and Supergirl, not to mention Teen Titans Go on Cartoon Network.

“We’re so talent driven,” Nelson said during the Q&A with Variety co-editor-in-chief Andrew Wallenstein. The focus on a single universe of characters with connected storylines “could end up handcuffing our creators into trying to work with the same storyline or force them to hold back characters or introduce certain characters. Ultimately it hinders the ability for someone like (showrunner) Bruno Heller to come in and create Gotham.“

She noted that Fox’s Batman prequel has no creative constraints regarding Batman v. Superman and vice versa. The single universe approach “has worked beautifully” for Marvel, she added, but didn’t make sense for WB.