Diane Nelson Out as DC Entertainment President

By Brent Lang

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Diane Nelson is out as president of DC Entertainment, Warner Bros. announced Wednesday.

She has been on a leave of absence for family-related issues since March, but will not return to her post. Nelson also serves as president of Warner Bros. Consumer Products. The decision is said by an insider to be her own. She was not forced out of her job, the insider stressed.

Before her exit, Nelson was one of the most powerful and prominent female executives in Hollywood and on the Warner Bros. lot. She was seen as being closely aligned with Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara.

In a letter to staff, Tsujihara wrote, “Diane has been a friend and colleague as well as a valued member of the Warner Bros. family for more than 20 years. While we’re sad she’ll be leaving us, we completely respect and support her decision.”

Nelson was named head of DC in 2009, where she helped oversee the development of its television projects, feature films, and video games with mixed results. DC has been successful on the television side, launching hits such as “Arrow” and “The Flash.” However, it has struggled to match the big screen output of rival Marvel. “Wonder Woman” was a critical and commercial winner, but films such as “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice” and “Suicide Squad” were treated like pinatas by reviewers and “Justice League” struck out at the box office.

Warner Bros said DC’s executive management team will report to Chief Digital Officer Thomas Gewecke until a replacement is found.