The DC Films president, Walter Hamada could be leaving Warner Bros. after the release of Black Adam—following the Batgirl film cancellation.
Walter Hamada was known for their work on Warner Bros.’ New Line Cinema and then transitioned to DC Films back in 2018. He was reportedly planning to leave the studio following last week’s news when the HBO Max Batgirl film was controversially cancelled as part of the newest CEO, David Zaslav’s economic plan for the studio.
Hamada was said to be staying with the studio in time for the release of Black Adam on October 21, so he could get the bonuses that came with the success of the upcoming film. He expects the film will do well with superstar Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as its lead.
In 2021, Hamada extended his contract as President of DC Films to 2023, which allowed him to work on the supposed reboot of The Flash in a standalone film. The film was meant to introduce the DC’s multiverse into the DC film canon, which would have featured Michael Keaton’s Batman and special guests from alternate versions of the film’s characters.
Hamada was known for his mixed reception actions since DC FanDome back in 2020, where he announced that DC planned to split its releases between theatrical and HBO Max platforms. He stated, “What the multiverse allows you to do is lean into this idea of, you can tell just great stories, and you don’t have to be really as focused on, it has to fit in the same continuity.”
“On one Earth we have this Gal and Jason and Ezra version of the JL, and we can continue telling those stories, while on a separate Earth, we can have a more grounded, real, Year Two Batman, and build out that world and not really worry about continuity, story elements, and et cetera. It’s really the best of both worlds,” Hamada continued explaining his strategy.
It was sort of meant to mirror Marvel Studios and their releases split between theatrical and Disney+ releases—would be the best bet. However, this concept was recently pummelled since Discovery acquired Warner Bros. with Zaslav openly stating how HBO Max was being put on the backburner.
Hamada paved new ways to get DC projects greenlit with his new multiverse approach because if a character that had a show or other movie with different actors existed, the multiverse would explain it. This was how Joker, The Batman and Superman & Lois were able to exist in his version of the DC canon. It was also a strategy to counteract the Arrowverse shows from being cancelled when the studio wanted to make movies on the characters.
Hamada was known for his lack of support within the DC studio as he did not believe Joker would have thrived as a film when it was pitched. Of course, the film earned more than $1 billion despite its R-rating and lax use of superhero CGI. There has now been a planned sequel slated for 2024.
Hamada also faced backlash from the Victor Stone/Cyborg actor, Ray Fisher. The Justice League actor was the first person to call out Joss Whedon’s ‘toxic’ behaviour on-set during the film’s production. Fisher noted how Warner Bros. execs including Hamada, Jon Berg, and Geoff Johns did not take his complaints seriously nor did the studio execs not act fast enough to protect the actors.
Reports have stated that Hamada was upset by Zaslav’s decision to cancel Batgirl since he was not asked about it. He reportedly stated he was concerned about the consequences for those involved in making the film. While Zaslav stated Batgirl was ‘not great enough’ to be released publicly, the New York Post also noted the film had low test scores in screen tests.
