As The New Yorker reported in a report on Mattel's post-"Barbie" plans, it's not just Mattel that's leaning heavily into IP. Warner Bros. Discovery is working on a scripted "Harry Potter" TV series, attempting to lean into a brand that's been tarnished for some by its creator's transphobia, not to mention a series of lackluster prequel films. Paramount Pictures CEO Brian Robbins told Variety in a profile published Wednesday that the studio's upcoming animated films would focus on familiar franchises like "Avatar: The Last Airbender," rather than going after "expensive original animated" films with less certain audiences.
I've always thought that corporate executives are prone to the bandwagon effect. You aren't pivoting your startup to AI? Well I definitely don't want to keep investing in you. Guardians of the Galaxy did really well? That means we should reshoot Suicide Squad to be more like it! We're not making quick progress on our new software? We need to hire more programmers!
They just make the same mistakes as all the executives before them. All people should assume corporate executives are incompetent until proven otherwise.