Warner Bros. has tapped company exec Pam Lifford as the new head of Warner Bros. Global Brands and Experiences, the division that will, according to The Hollywood Reporter, oversee the branches of “DC, Warner Bros. Consumer Products, Themed Entertainment and a new global franchise team.”

Lifford, the company’s “highest-ranking black executive” according to ComicsBeat, will develop new “fan-engagement business opportunities as well as working to align the current fan-focused activities of WBCP,” as stated in the release. Lifford will also work with all studio divisions to increase collaboration and work with sister companies HBO, Turner and some divisions of AT&T.

ComicsBeat also takes care to mention that not only will Lifford be over the studio arm of DC, but she will also be the new boss to whom DC publishers Dan DiDio and Jim Lee report.

Originally, Lifford was over the consumer products division, which oversaw the successful launches of products like DC Superhero Girls. According to ComicsBeat, the line “has revolutionized girls entertainment,” so it only leads one to assume that Lifford’s ability to believe in and spearhead revolutionary ideas in comic book consumerism would lead to positive gains for DC’s cinematic universe. The cinematic universe project has been on shaky ground since the beginning, and recent news of Henry Cavill stepping down from the role of Superman has put the film franchise into more questionable territory.

If I may inject a corny DC analogy, perhaps Lifford can be to the DC cinematic universe what Amanda Waller is to the Suicide Squad; maybe she’ll be the one to wrangle a misaligned group of misfits and hone them into a super team. DC needs someone who can bring the universe together to regain some ground already traversed by Marvel and, so far, no one has been able to do it. With the ball now in Lifford’s court, let’s hope she can turn this leaking ship around.

Pam Lifford

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