Thanks to the folks at Splash Report, we have a greater understanding as to the chaos that has been taking place behind the scenes at DC. Various sources boil the problem purely down to one thing - creative control.
Seth Grahame-Smith pulled the pin on The Flash citing "creative differences," while Rick Famuyiwa, Ben Affleck (The Batman) and Michelle MacLaren (Wonder Woman) did likewise. Following on from the disasters that were Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad in quick succession, the critical failures made Warner Brothers panic. And, in doing so, the calm exterior belied a studio that had lost all control and sense of what they wanted from the superhero franchise.
Loyalty Traded In For Mistrust
Warner Brothers had long been considered "home" for a number of the heavyweight filmmakers. Always given productions on the proviso that they work with the people handed to them. From Clint Eastwood to Christopher Nolan, Zack Snyder, Ben Affleck, David Yates and Alfonso Cuaron, both the director and studio had an understanding and business was good.
BvS then changed the dynamic. Allowing their de facto movie man Snyder to branch off without anyone at Warner or DC interfering in his special creation. Fast forward to the ugly fallout and what took place was a case of serious mistrust, with both bodies scrambling to order new cuts of BvS and Suicide Squad. A decision that had David Ayer fuming after the fact.
Every other title post BvS was now thrown into disruption, as Snyder had complete oversight on the casting of all the superheroes. This had Grahame-Smith depart The Flash, MacLaren leave Wonder Woman and Australian James Wan threaten to pull the plug from Aquaman.
Reeves: I Get The Same Control As Wan With Aquaman
Seeing a litany of director's either quit or get cold feet because of the new and uninvited oversight, initial negotiations between Matt Reeves and The Batman representatives were frosty. Seeing how bad the PR was for the franchise, Warner Brothers buckled under the filmmaker's provisions that he have the same amount of control that Wan does with Aquaman. A condition they begrudgingly agreed to.
This leaves newly-appointed Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics Geoff Johns in a very awkward position. Being responsible for the creative outcomes of the movies. But without having any power to control what happens in the production process. The problems span further though, as the studio looks unlikely to fulfill their 2014 promise of two features a year as The Flash, Cyborg and Nightwing are all waiting with baited breath over the success or failure of Wonder Woman and Justice League.
Source: Splash Report
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