Warner Bros. reveals film plans for Lego, DC, ‘Harry Potter’ spinoffs

Warner Bros. will expand its film franchise offerings starting in 2016, with plans to release 10 superhero pictures from its DC Entertainment imprint over a five-year period, among other projects.

The Burbank-based company, Hollywood’s largest film studio, also announced three Lego-branded pictures and three from “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling. All of those pictures would also be released between 2016 and 2020.

Chief Executive Kevin Tsujihara detailed the plans Wednesday morning at an investors conference hosted by Warner Bros.’ corporate parent, Time Warner Inc.

“We have a plan to accelerate growth by doubling down on great content,” Tsujihara said.

The 10 DC Entertainment pictures are: “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice” (2016), “Suicide Squad” (2016), “Wonder Woman” (2017), “Justice League Part One” (2017), “The Flash” (2018), “Aquaman” (2018), “Shazam” (2019), “Justice League Part Two” (2019), “Cyborg” (2020)” and “Green Lantern” (2020).

The “Justice League” films are noteworthy because the films would feature several iconic superhero characters, including Batman and Superman, among others. Both Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill, who respectively play Batman and Superman in the forthcoming “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” will return for the 2017 “Justice League” movie.

Warner Bros.’ rival in the superhero movie business, Walt Disney Co., found massive success with its 2012 picture “The Avengers,” which featured several popular Marvel Comics characters including Iron Man and Captain America. That film grossed more than $1.5 billion worldwide.

“DC will be a key engine for growth across Warner Bros.” Tsujihara said.

Warner Bros. had a hit earlier this year with “The Lego Movie” and will look to build on the popularity of the blockbuster, which took in $468 million worldwide. The studio’s Lego film plans include releasing “Ninjago” in 2016, “The Lego Batman Movie” in 2017, and “The Lego Movie 2” in 2018.

Warner Bros., which released the eight films in the lucrative “Harry Potter” movie franchise ($7.7 billion in worldwide box office), also is reteaming with “Potter” author Rowling. She and the studio will make a series of movies inspired by “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” a 42-page fictional Hogwarts textbook that Rowling wrote in 2001 to accompany her “Potter” novels.

The studio announced the partnership in September 2013, but provided more details on Wednesday. Warner Bros. will put out “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” pictures in 2016, 2018 and 2020. The films are slated to be directed by David Yates, who helmed the last four “Harry Potter” movies.

“It clearly lives in the world of ‘Harry Potter’ that [Rowling] has created,” said Tsujihara.

He hinted that there could be more than three “Beasts” movies, saying it would be “at least a trilogy.”

The details provided about the studio’s upcoming film slate came in the aftermath of an uncharacteristically tough summer for Warner Bros.

The studio released a handful of duds during the stretch, including “Blended” and “Jersey Boys,” and so far this year is in third place in domestic box-office share. The studio has finished No. 1 or No. 2 in nine of the last 10 years.

Tsujihara also used his appearance in New York on Wednesday to detail a cost-cutting initiative that would reduce Warner Bros.’ annual overhead by $200 million.

Warner Bros. is set to embark on a round of layoffs by early November, The Times has reported.

Shares of Time Warner on Wednesday were up $1.52 to $72.16 in midmorning trading.

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