The chaotic road of DC movies over the last decade, as the company embarks on a bold 10-year plan to compete with Marvel

"We have done a reset," Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said. "We've restructured the business where there will be a team with a 10-year plan focusing just on DC. It's very similar to the structure that Alan Horn and Bob Iger put together very effectively with Kevin Feige at Disney."

The "DC Extended Universe," as it was dubbed by fans online and stuck, had produced three misfires with critics in a row. "Suicide Squad" had a 26% Rotten Tomatoes critic score.

And while the movies had performed well at the global box office, they weren't mega hits, especially given their bloated budgets. And, adding insult to injury, they weren't reaching the same heights as Marvel movies.

The movie, directed by Patty Jenkins, was everything Warner Bros. had been looking for in its new DC movies.

It cost less than the other movies to make and earned $822 million globally, on par with "Batman v Superman." And unlike the other DCEU movies, it was a hit with critics, receiving a 93% critic score.

It grossed just $657 million worldwide, a disappointing figure considering it was DC's big superhero team-up movie and it cost $300 million to make after extensive reshoots ballooned the budget.

"Birds of Prey" grossed just $205 million worldwide, but cost $85 million, far less than most superhero blockbusters. It found another life on HBO Max after its theatrical run.

"Wonder Woman 1984," the sequel to 2017's "Wonder Woman," was released simultaneously on Max and in theaters amid the coronavirus pandemic. It grossed only $170 million globally, but was hindered by the ongoing pandemic and online piracy.

The movie wasn't the critical hit its predecessor was, and has a 58% on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Wrap reported later that year that the director's cut would cost $70 million to finish, as it included additional footage and ultimately clocked in at four hours in length.

While the "Release the Snyder Cut" movement won, the movie is still a cloud over Warner Bros.' head.

Rolling Stone reported recently that the movement was fueled by fake Twitter accounts, and that Snyder himself had hired a digital marketing firm to boost fan engagement in 2016 after the release of "Batman v Superman," which contributed to the cult-like following of his fans (Snyder denied this).

The $90 million movie was nearly complete, but Warner Bros. Discovery opted to not release it in favor of a tax writeoff as it looks to save costs, according to Variety and The Hollywood Reporter.

Zaslav defended the decision during this week's earnings call.

"The objective is to grow the DC brand, to grow the DC characters," he said. "But also, our job is to protect the DC brand, and that's what we're going to do."

The company is also focusing on theatrical releases, a pivot from the WarnerMedia regime, and "Batgirl" was developed as a straight-to-streaming release.

"We can't find an economic case for it," Zaslav said.

Upcoming DC releases include:

• "Black Adam" — October 21, 2022
• "Shazam! Fury of the Gods" — December 21, 2022
• "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" — March 17, 2023
• "The Flash" — June 23, 2023

"The Flash is moving forward despite controversy surrounding its star Ezra Miller.

"We have seen 'The Flash,' 'Black Adam' and 'Shazam 2,'" Zaslav said on Thursday. "We are very excited about them. We've seen them. We think they are terrific, and we think we can make them even better."