Dan Lin in Talks to Head DC for Warner Bros. Discovery
Has DC Comics finally found its Kevin Feige? Maybe, seems to be the answer, as producer Dan Lin has moved into pole position for the role and is now in talks to take on the iconic superhero brand for Warner Bros. Discovery.
The news was first broken last night by The Hollywood Reporter, with Borys Kit reporting that, according to multiple sources, Dan Lin “is in talks to take the role of DC chief.”
Since the Warner Bros. Discovery merger completed earlier this year, CEO David Zaslav has made no secret of the fact that he wants a Feige-like figure to head a new DC “content vertical” that would encompass all film and television output for the brand. Emma Watts was initially approached, but turned down the position earlier this year. And, more recently, Arrowverse head Greg Berlanti was said to be in the running alongside Dan Lin, following the shock cancellation of Batgirl and the announcement of a 10-year plan for DC on WBD’s latest investment call. Now it looks like Lin has become the favorite for the role.
Variety has cautioned that it’s not yet a done deal, with Lin’s Rideback production company, plus its current ties to Universal and Disney, seen as the biggest potential obstacle to him taking on the job. But Lin has a champion in WBD’s new advisor, Alan Horn, who served as Lin’s mentor in his early days as a producer with Warner, back when Horn was head of the studio.
If that hurdle can be overcome, the new position would see Lin answering directly to WBD CEO David Zaslav, bypassing Warner Bros. Pictures, HBO/HBO Max, and Warner Bros. TV, and giving him direct control over all DC projects.
For Lin, it would also mean he has come full circle from his first roles as a producer — his production credits include the Oscar-nominated The Two Popes, Disney’s live action Aladdin, the LEGO movies, Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes movies, and Andy Muschietti’s It and It Part 2, but one of the first films he was producer on never made it to theaters: George Miller’s Justice League: Mortal. Speaking on The Ankler Hot Seat podcast earlier this month, Lin was asked if there was any franchise he wished was his. His answer was DC, calling it “the one that got away” and saying that, had things gone differently for that film, he would have had a very different life and been heading the DC universe.
“That [DC] got away. Why I wanted to make LEGO Batman is my way of getting back into DC but it’s in a very different way. But, yes, I would say that’s the one that I wish ‘oh, if I could only have done the things that I’d wanted to do with DC that would have been really exciting.”
Should he take the position, Lin would be taking on a slate of films that already includes The Flash, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, and Joker: Folie à Deux, with a sequel to Matt Reeves’ The Batman also in the works. On the TV side, he would inherit Gunn’s Peacemaker, a Penguin spin-off from The Batman, and J.J. Abrams’ Justice League Dark projects, along with what remains of The CW’s Arrowverse. From there, Lin will be tasked with crafting a 10-year plan to revitalize the DC Universe and build it into a box office sensation similar to the MCU. It’s a massive challenge, but hopefully Lin is the man to meet it and allow DC to fulfill its true potential.
Chris is a lifelong fan of Disney, Star Wars and super heroes who can’t quite believe this golden age of movies and TV we’re living in. Having written blogs dedicated to Disney’s Aladdin musical and Star Wars Celebration, Chris is excited to be part of the MNN team.
