Recently, The New York Times sat down with Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara who discussed his plans for the company moving forward. Some of those plans include the new film series from Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, the success and follow-up sequels to THE LEGO MOVIE, and the current state of DC comics superheroes on both the big and small screen. Check out the highlights from the interview below that discuss the details of some of these big projects on the horizon.
Details on J.K. Rowling's new film series (which will apparently be a trilogy now):
"…Warner announced that Ms. Rowling had agreed to adapt for the big screen her “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” a 2001 book billed as one of Harry Potter’s Hogwarts textbooks. Three megamovies are planned. The main character will be a “magizoologist” named Newt Scamander. The stories, neither prequels or sequels, will start in New York about seven decades before the arrival of Mr. Potter and his pals."
On the future of the LEGO franchise (which has "multiple" sequels in the works):
"Mr. Tsujihara noted recent progress on both of those fronts. Dan Lin, a Warner-based producer, is working on multiple sequels to “The Lego Movie,” which became a surprise blockbuster last month. (Mr. Tsujihara was directly responsible, having bought a company that makes Lego-themed video games in 2007. That led to the film, which has taken in more than $390 million worldwide.)"
On the future of the DC superhero universe on the big and small screen (including a new film series announcement):
As for DC Entertainment, cross-studio collaboration to make better use of its comic book characters appears to have accelerated considerably since Mr. Tsujihara took over, in part because he eliminated some management layers. (He has not named a chief operating officer and did not replace Mr. Rosenblum and Mr. Robinov, choosing instead to divide up their duties and assume some himself.) Two new television shows are coming to the CW and Fox, including one based on the Flash and another on a young Batman, and a film series will be announced in the near future, Mr. Tsujihara said. It is expected to include a “Justice League” movie.
So, to re-cap: J.K. Rowling’s FANTASTIC BEASTS & WHERE TO FIND THEM will now be a trilogy, there are multiple sequels in the works for THE LEGO MOVIE (a potential NINJAGO film?), and a new "film series" for DC will be announced in the "near future" (Comic Con, perhaps?), which will include a JUSTICE LEAGUE movie. I'm cool to see a new Harry Potter-themed series from Rowling and THE LEGO MOVIE was a lot of fun so I'll certainly give it another go. As for the DC Cinematic Universe, the doors are wide open for speculation. Could they be announcing Dwayne Johnson's superhero role, which may or may not lead directly into JUSTICE LEAGUE or will it be something else entirely. It seems like the announcement of THE FLASH movie kind of came and went never to be heard from again, so who knows where that is sitting right now, especially as the TV show is set to debut later this year.
Out of all these tidbits, which are you most excited about? Which film series do you think WB will announce next for their DC Cinematic Universe? Let's hear it!