Movie producer Dan Lin, who had been in discussions to head Warner Bros. Discovery’s DC Comics film and TV division, reportedly made the decision not to accept the post.

The two sides ended their negotiations without reaching an agreement.

The news comes at a difficult moment for the recently founded Warner Bros. Discovery. HBO Max programs have been eliminated, and CEO David Zaslav has implemented layoffs since integrating Warner Media with Discovery in April. Shares have dropped by almost 50% after the transaction was completed.

After considering a potential offer from Warner Bros., Lin decided to stay at Rideback, the film and television company he founded and still oversees, according to the sources, who declined to be named because the conversations were private. He oversaw the two-part adaptation of “It” for the big screen as well as “The Lego Movie.”

A spokesman for Warner Bros. Discovery declined to comment. Lin could not be immediately reached for comment.

The 49-Year-old Was a Favorite For The Job

It was anticipated that Lin, a 49-year-old film producer, would report directly to Zaslav, bypassing the division heads at HBO and HBO Max, Warner Bros. TV, and Warner Bros. Pictures. Contract negotiations were made more difficult by Lin’s ownership of Rideback and the conditions under which Warner Bros. Discovery would compensate Lin for that ownership, according to two of the people.

After the two parties exchanged term agreements, one of the people said that Lin intended to keep Rideback operating with an equity share held by WBD. One of the individuals stated that after negotiations came to a standstill, both parties decided to part ways.

Zaslav has been looking for someone to steady the ship at the DC film studio, home to superheroes like Wonder Woman and Superman, in order to match Disney’s Marvel Studios’ level of consistent success.

The sequel to “Aquaman” will now be released in December 2023 instead of March 2023, according to Warner Bros. Since Ezra Miller, who plays the primary character, is alleged to have engaged in child grooming, the next film “The Flash,” which is also set for release in 2019, has been besieged by controversy. When “Batgirl” was nearly finished, Zaslav took it off the HBO Max release schedule, allowing the company to deduct the expense from its taxes.

In April, it was revealed that Zaslav had approached Emma Watts, a former senior film executive at 20th Century Studios and Paramount, to take up the position but that she had declined. Warner Bros. Discovery is in communication with a number of other possible workers, according to one of the people. According to a different account, Zaslav personally met with Lin to try and convince him to take the job.

Zaslav has stated his desire to establish a quality-focused business with “long-term, much stronger, sustainable growth out of DC.” A revamp of the DC filmography, which would create a 10-year plan for the franchise, is something the executive is thinking about.

Alan Horn, a Hollywood producer, was engaged by Zaslav in July to advise the CEO and help him navigate the film business. The Walt Disney Company was building the Marvel Cinematic Universe and restarting the Star Wars film series when Horn, a reputable executive and veteran Disney employee, was working there.

In addition, he helped make the Dark Knight trilogy, the eight-film Harry Potter series, and the “Hobbit” movies successful.