Geoffrey Johns is an American comic book writer, screenwriter, and film and television producer. Johns's work on the DC Comics characters Green Lantern, Aquaman, Flash, and Superman has drawn critical acclaim. His critically acclaimed work includes Sinestro Corps War, Blackest Night, Throne of Atlantis, Flashpoint, Doomsday Clock, and Superman: Brainiac. He co-created the DC character Courtney Whitmore based on his deceased sister. He also expanded the Green Lantern mythology, adding in new concepts and co-creating numerous characters. Among the DC characters and concepts he co-created are Larfleeze, the Sinestro Corps, the Indigo Tribe, the Red Lantern Corps, Atrocitus, the Black Lantern Corps, Jessica Cruz, Hunter Zolomon, Tar Pit, Simon Baz, Bleez, Miss Martian, and Kate Kane.
The DC Animated Universe is a shared universe based on DC Comics and produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It began with Batman: The Animated Series in 1992 and ended with Justice League vs. the Fatal Five in 2019. The associated media franchise includes theatrical and direct-to-video feature films, shorts, comic books, video games, and other multimedia adaptations.
Lego Batman is a discontinued theme and product range of the Lego building toy, introduced in 2006, based on the superhero character Batman, under license from DC Comics. The sets feature vehicles, characters and scenes from the comics and films. The inspirations for the design of these vary widely. For example, the Batmobile retains its basic sleek shape and prominent fins from the Tim Burton films, whereas the "Bat-Tank" seems to be based on the tank-like Batmobile in Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns.
The Justice League, also called the Justice League of America or JLA, is a fictional superhero team that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Since their first appearance in The Brave and the Bold #28, various incarnations of the team have appeared in film, television, and video game adaptations.
The Batman franchise, based on the fictional superhero Batman who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics, has seen the release of various films. Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger, the character first starred in two serial films in the 1940s, Batman and Batman and Robin. The character also appeared in the 1966 film Batman, which was a feature film adaptation of the 1960s television series starring Adam West and Burt Ward, who also starred in the film. Toward the end of the 1980s, the Warner Bros. studio began producing a series of feature films starring Batman, beginning with 1989's Batman, directed by Tim Burton and starring Michael Keaton. Burton and Keaton returned for the 1992 sequel Batman Returns, and in 1995, Joel Schumacher directed Batman Forever, with Val Kilmer as Batman. Schumacher also directed the 1997 sequel Batman & Robin, which starred George Clooney. Batman & Robin was poorly received by both critics and fans, leading to the cancellation of a sequel titled Batman Unchained.
DC Comics's Superman franchise, based on the character of the same name created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in June 1938, has seen the release of various films since its inception. The character debuted in cinemas in a series of animated shorts beginning in 1941 and was the protagonist of two movie serials in 1948 and 1950. An independent studio, Lippert Pictures, released the first Superman feature film, Superman and the Mole Men, starring George Reeves, in 1951. In 1973, the film rights to the Superman character were purchased by Ilya Salkind, Alexander Salkind, and Pierre Spengler. After multiple scripts and several years in development, Richard Donner was hired as director, and he shot two films, Superman (1978), and Superman II (1980), at the same time, both starring Christopher Reeve. Donner had filmed 75 percent of Superman II before it was decided to finish shooting the first film. The Salkinds fired Donner after Superman's release and commissioned Richard Lester as the director to finish Superman II. Lester returned to direct Superman III (1983). The Salkinds also produced the spin-off Supergirl (1984). They then sold the rights to Cannon Films, which produced the poorly reviewed Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987). Ilya Salkind commissioned a fifth Superman script before Warner Bros. acquired the rights in 1993.
The many incarnations of the DC Comics superhero Green Lantern have appeared in numerous media over the years.
The DC Universe Animated Original Movies are a series of American direct-to-video superhero animated films based on DC Comics characters and stories. From 2007 to 2022, films were produced primarily by Warner Bros. Animation but subsequently fell under DC Studios. Many films are usually stand-alone projects that are either adaptations of popular works or original stories.
The Lego Movie is a 2014 animated adventure comedy film co-produced by Warner Animation Group, Village Roadshow Pictures, Lego System A/S, Vertigo Entertainment, Lin Pictures, and Animal Logic, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. A collaboration between production houses from the United States, Australia, and Denmark. It was written and directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller from a story they co-wrote with Dan and Kevin Hageman, based on the Lego line of construction toys. The film stars the voices of Chris Pratt, Will Ferrell, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Nick Offerman, Alison Brie, Charlie Day, Liam Neeson, and Morgan Freeman. Its story focuses on Emmet Brickowski (Pratt), an ordinary Lego minifigure who helps a resistance movement stop a tyrannical businessman (Ferrell) from gluing everything in the Lego world into his vision of perfection.
Diane Whelan Nelson is an American business executive who was president of DC Entertainment from 2009 to 2018, and president and chief content officer of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment from 2013 to 2018.
The Flash is a 2023 American superhero film based on the DC Comics character Barry Allen / Flash. Directed by Andy Muschietti from a screenplay by Christina Hodson and a story by Joby Harold and the writing team of John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, it is the 13th film in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). Ezra Miller stars as Barry, who travels back in time to prevent his mother's death and becomes stranded in an alternate past. Sasha Calle also stars in her film debut, alongside Michael Shannon, Ron Livingston, Maribel Verdú, Kiersey Clemons, Antje Traue, and Michael Keaton.
DC Studios is an American film and television production company that is a division of Warner Bros. Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). It is responsible for the production of live-action and animated films and television series, as well as video games, based on characters from the American comic book publisher DC Comics, primarily as part of its flagship media franchise and shared universe, the DC Universe (DCU). The studio has been led by writer/director James Gunn and producer Peter Safran as its co-chairmen and co-CEOs since it was formed in November 2022.
The DC Extended Universe (DCEU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is based on characters that appear in American comic books published by DC Comics. The DCEU also includes comic books, short films, novels, and video games. Like the original DC Universe in comic books, the DCEU is established by crossing over common plot elements, settings, cast, and characters.
The DC Animated Movie Universe (DCAMU) is an American media franchise and shared universe of animated films distributed between 2013 and 2024 by Warner Bros. Animation and DC Entertainment. Based on characters from the DC Universe, the franchise is part of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies line.
DC Universe was an American subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) and digital comics service operated by DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Digital Networks, both divisions of WarnerMedia. Launched on September 15, 2018, the service featured a streaming library of animated series and films based on DC Comics properties, new original television series adapted from DC properties, as well as a rotating back catalogue of DC Comics publications, and online community features. In 2020, the service won the Webby People's Voice Award for Media Streaming.
DC FanDome is a virtual event platform created by DC Comics and Warner Bros. Entertainment. Created initially as a virtual entertainment and comic book convention, the name is used for other online events centered on DC properties. The events feature announcements about DC-based content, including the DC Extended Universe film franchise, the Arrowverse television franchise, other films and television shows, comic books, as well as video games.
The DC Extended Universe (DCEU) media franchise has experienced a turbulent history since its inception in 2013, characterized by highly publicized clashes between studio executives and talent, constantly changing approaches to worldbuilding, and repeated changes in management. Warner Bros. Pictures originally announced plans for a shared universe of live-action films based on the DC Comics, starting with the release of Man of Steel (2013), with director Zack Snyder set to spearhead the franchise. Following the negative reception to Snyder's follow-up film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), Warner Bros. created DC Films, a new division led by Geoff Johns and Jon Berg tasked with overseeing development of the DCEU. DC Films attempted to correct the course of the franchise, culminating in the troubled production and disastrous release of the crossover film Justice League (2017), which significantly deviated from Snyder's original vision.
