Walter Hamada has signed a multi-year deal extension to remain president of DC Films, insiders tell Variety.
The extension is through 2023, one individual familiar with the talks noted. The studio is announcing the deal imminently. Hamada will continue to report to Warner Bros. Picture Group Chairman Toby Emmerich.
The Warner Bros. Picture Group label is responsible for bringing all of DC’s superhero canon to screens and streaming, including the recent Christmas Day release “Wonder Woman 1984.”
Hamada joined DC Films in 2018, coming from Warner’s New Line Cinema where he served as executive vice president of production. In late December, he described an ambitious amount of theatrical movie plans and streaming spinoffs based on marquee characters including Batman, Superman, The Flash and fan favorites like Batgirl and Static Shock.
Hamada’s extension is an indicator that his longtime colleague and boss Emmerich, who used to run New Line, trusts his stewardship of DC Films moving forward. Hamada succeeded former DC heads Geoff Johns and Jon Berg (both now producers), pulling out hits like “Aquaman” ($1.4 billion worldwide box office) and New Line’s upstart “Shazaam!” ($365 million worldwide) from a lackluster unit relaunch that was meant to compete with Disney’s mighty Marvel.
The executive was thrust into the spotlight last summer after “Justice League” star Ray Fisher accused Hamada of enabling unspecified misconduct from that film’s director, Joss Whedon. Fisher, who played the character Cyborg in two DC titles and the forthcoming Zach Snyder cut of “Justice League,” also accused Johns and Berg of similar enabling. Hamada was not the head of the DC Films unit during principal photography on “Justice League.”
WarnerMedia conducted an investigation into the matter after Fisher went public on Twitter in July, which concluded last month and resulted in “remedial action,” a studio spokesperson said at the time. Just before the new year, Fisher said he would “not participate in any production associated” with Hamada, presumptively ending his tenure in the DC Films universe.
Hamada spent a decade at New Line in various roles. His notable hits include several titles in “The Conjuring, “Final Destination,” and “Annabelle” franchises. Previously, he spent four years as a partner at the management and production company H2F Entertainment, and headed development for MBST Entertainment. He began his career at the Sony Pictures label TriStar, eventually graduating to vice president of production at Columbia Pictures.
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