Following the mixed response to both Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad, some behind the scenes changes were made which saw Geoff Johns and Jon Berg given a great role in the DC Films Universe as Charles Roven had his reduced. Now, in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the producer has shed some light on talk that he's stepping away from these adaptations.
"The studio made me the producer of all the DC movies, and they announced eight. When we finished the [timetable], we looked at each other and said, “This is incredibly ambitious, but we haven’t taken into consideration if something goes wrong.” We also hadn’t decided where we were going to shoot those movies. As difficult as it was for me to commute from Toronto to London to Italy, it became really clear I couldn’t do the job that I do as a producer [with Aquaman likely to shoot in Australia]. I’m for sure producing the sequels of the movies that I have made."
Talk then turned to how Justice League will compare to the two movies mentioned above, and as expected, the producer once again promised that fans should expect a very different tone from the superhero ensemble. That's right, it's going to be "lighter" in tone. "We knew we were making a very serious, compelling, driving film with Batman v. Superman. Now the bell has been rung and the whole tone of the movie is lighter." Whether or not that approach will work remains to be seen.
Going back to the sequels mentioned by Roven, the trade put it to him that if the two DC Films releases he's produced do get follow-up, those might have lower budgets due to them making less than Warner Bros. hoped for. His response? "Suicide Squad made almost $750 million. Batman v. Superman did $873 million. Those two movies were huge hits." What do you guys think of these comments?