Warner Bros. Reportedly "Begged" JOKER Director Todd Phillips to Head Up DC Studios
Before James Gunn and Peter Safran were hired by Warner Bros. to lead the charge at DC Studios, the studio wanted Joker director Todd Phillips in that position.
Earlier this year, not long after David Zaslav took over Warner Bros. Discovery, there was a report that came out saying that Phillps was asked to develop more DC universe film projects. It was explained that Zaslav had “asked Todd Phillips, the multihyphenate who created dark 2019 billion-dollar grosser Joker, to do more in the DC universe, potentially acting as an advisor though he will not serve in an executive capacity.”
The New York Post is now reporting that Warner Bros. went out to a lot of people to take on DC Studios, but that "the whole town turned the job down" before it was offered to Gunn and Safran. So, Gunn and Safran were at the bottom of the list, which is interesting.
They go on to say that Todd Phillips was reportedly "begged" to take the role. That obviously didn’t work out. As far as Gunn being hired goes, a source shared that there’s nervousness about Gunn’s inexperience leading a corporate hierarchy and howit could hurt DC Studios.
The source shared: "Gunn has never run anything. I wonder if big filmmakers will work for another director with zero experience guiding movies through a huge grinder of a system. He’s not Kevin Feige.”
I don’t know about all that. I like Gunn, I like the films that he’s made, and I just think he’s a talented storyteller that will do some cool and exciting things with the DC Cinematic Universe. Sure, he’s made some controversial choices so far, but I think he’s going to take the DC universe in the right direction.
So, whether he was at the top of the list or the bottom, I think he’s a solid choice and I’m looking forward to seeing what his big plans are and how they turn out! His first project will be a new Superman movie that will focus on a younger version of the character living in Metropolis and working at The Daily Planet.
As for Todd Phillips, he may not be leading the charge at DC Studios, but he is currently directing the Joker sequel.