Warner Bros. exec says DC films will prioritize quality over teasing other movies

It looks like Warner Bros. is FINALLY realizing what works. Warner Bros. executive Toby Emmerich says that his concern is about making quality and not quantity when comes to their future comic book movie adaptations.

During a chat with Deadline, Emmerich spoke on the future of DC films. He believes that the key to success is allowing the films to be very different from one another and he thinks that they don’t all need easter eggs to set up future sequels or shared universes. Here is what he had to say:

“The secret of the movie business is quality. It’s the best business strategy for both theatrical motion pictures and superhero movies. The movies don’t have to all have the same tone, or interlock with other DC movies, or have an Easter egg that sets up another film. Quality is the most important factor for a studio, and the biggest thing you can do to influence quality is the filmmaker that you hire.”

I feel like this is something that should’ve been known without even saying it but Warner Bros. did struggle in the past with what felt like rushed universe building with some of their DCEU releases. Given the success they’re having both critically and financially with a standalone effort like The Batman, it looks like they’re finally seeing that they don’t need to try to keep up with Marvel in order to be successful. Forging their own direction is the best way to come.

Despite what Emmerich said, it doesn’t look like they’re fully abandoning a cinematic universe entirely. The Flash appears to be resetting the DCEU to create something more streamlined. Michael Keaton’s version of Batman is appearing in both The Flash and Batgirl while Peacemaker, a spin-off of The Suicide Squad, also featured cameos from the Justice League. Matt Reeves is also creating spin-off series from The Batman for HBO Max and it appears they will be linked to that film’s universe as well. These connections do make sense and I think that kind of universe building can work but I do agree that they don’t have to do this route with every single DC project.

Do YOU think Warner Bros. should focus on quality over quantity when it comes to their DC films?