The disappointing performance of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice continues to reverberate throughout Warner Bros. Pictures’ burgeoning universe of DC Comics movies, as one of the studio’s top producers has reportedly seen his role shift in the wake of the film’s less-than-super performance.
Charles Roven, who has served as a producer on every comic book movie made by Warner Bros. since Christopher Nolan’s 2005 franchise-starter Batman Begins, won’t be supervising production on several projects down the road that he was initially attached to as a producer, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Roven played a key role in producing Batman v Superman and worked on the upcoming Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman, and Justice League: Part One movies, but has been removed from The Flash and Aquaman movies, which have yet to begin filming. The report indicates that he could be brought on as a producer for sequels to films he already worked on, but nothing is confirmed at this point.
The report on Roven’s “evolving” position regarding the studio’s live-action superhero films has not been confirmed and remains entirely unofficial at this point, with a studio spokesperson telling the outlet that Roven is “a key member of not only the DC slate but of the Warner Bros. family.”
The still-unconfirmed shake-up is the latest in a long list of major moves Warner Bros. has made in the wake of a disappointing box office and critical reception for Batman v Superman — a movie that was intended to be the jumping-off point for the studio’s cinematic universe. The film currently ranks as one of the worst-reviewed movies of all time featuring Batman or Superman, and despite a big opening weekend, isn’t likely to cross $900 million worldwide. While that box office tally might suggest a positive performance, the film’s $250 million budget, the presence of not one but two of the most iconic superheroes in the world, and the fact that Marvel Studios’ recent, similarly themed Captain America: Civil War crossed the $1 billion mark in just a few weeks all suggest that it fell short of its potential.
Some of the recent moves by Warner Bros. in the aftermath of Batman v Superman include the exit of The Flash director Seth Grahame-Smith, who was to make his directorial debut on the film, and the attachment of Batman v Superman actor Ben Affleck as an executive producer on Justice League. The studio’s Executive VP Jon Berg and DC Entertainment CCO Geoff Johns have also been shifted into roles that will have them managing all of the studio’s DC Comics film projects down the road.
The next DC Comics movie scheduled for release from Warner Bros. Pictures’ will be Suicide Squad, set to hit theaters August 5.