We all know that each time there’s an action-packed DC film hitting theaters, we’re going to have plenty of super powered products and experiences to choose from at retail. But how do those products become a reality? Who determines what to make and where it’s sold?

Meet Kevin Morris, VP of Franchise Management and Marketing for Consumer Products, as he shares insights on connecting with fans beyond the big screen, creating a wholistic brand experience through products and what he’d choose to take home from the latest collection for The Batman.

How long have you been with Warner Bros. Discovery and what is your role?
I’ve been with Warner Bros. Discovery (WB) for almost 14 years. I joined the Consumer Products team in 2008 as marketing lead for our animation portfolio (Scooby-Doo, Tom & Jerry, The Flintstones, etc.) and then led the Wizarding World/Harry Potter team for a few years (deep in the development and launch of the multiple Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park experiences around the world) before transitioning to leading the DC Franchise team as VP of Franchise Management and Marketing for Consumer Products, part of the Global Brands & Experiences group.

How would you explain what you do to a five-year old? A colleague?
Consumer Products is the part of the Warner Bros. Discovery business where our characters, franchises, and brands come to life beyond the page and screen. We create the products and experiences where fans of all ages can shop, wear, play and display their love of our portfolio of brands. As Franchise Management and Marketing, my team and I are responsible for connecting the DC portfolio with those fans every day, everywhere where they are, by creating in-store and online marketing activations, developing content for our global digital and social platforms like YouTube and Instagram, and translating all of the amazing DC films, TV shows, animated series, and comic publishing into products and experiences that extend that content into our fans’ everyday lives.

What's the most interesting or coolest part of your job?
Working with the most amazing team of marketers, content creators, and product and retail experts around the Studio to translate and transform their work into toys, t-shirts, backpacks, costumes, theme parks (and hundreds of other products and experiences), and extend our reach into unique digital content, and social and mobile platforms that grow our fan base every single day around the world.

Consumer Products just announced the product lines for The Batman. How does your team play a part in bringing the line to life?
The Batman product line is so cool! My team has been involved from the beginning - reading the script to pull out the best characters, gadgets, vehicles, and even scenes from the film that would make a compelling product line; working with our fantastic Theatrical Integrated Marketing team to source all the creative and marketing assets we need to assemble style guides and retail guides for our partners to build and promote the broadest product assortment; pitching the film to our retail partners to get them on board with carrying the biggest assortment of products in store and online; partnering with our retail marketing teams to create exciting in-store/online retail experiences; and working with our Global Themed Entertainment group to integrate The Batman film into our existing DC portfolio of experiences around the world. It truly takes a village to bring something as big as The Batman film to life beyond the big screen!

How does Consumer Products choose what to develop into a product line?
For most of our content-based product lines (like The Batman film) - the actual content usually dictates the look, feel, and scale of the product line. For The Batman, he’s the world’s greatest detective, as well as an expert in all kinds of technology and gadgetry (including vehicles) which dictates a core product approach that will deliver on the film storyline. To supplement that content-based approach, we also have a ton of research about our fans around the world, and we know the types of products they love. The magic is figuring out how to create the right types of products for a given film or other piece of content, which is where our Global Research and Insights team plays a role alongside our expert Category teams who work with our licensees day in and day out to match up the film story with the right assortment of products.

If you could choose one product (or collection) from the release, what would you pick?
Everyone who knows me is probably not going to be surprised by this statement, but I love all the cool and unique apparel that our licensees around the world create for our franchises, properties, and characters! I have quite a collection at this point from almost every country where we sell DC products and across all of our licensees and retail partners, including our own DC Shop e-commerce website. So, no surprise, I’m very excited about the dozens (maybe hundreds?!) of new t-shirts, hoodies, hats, socks, jackets, and other cool apparel that I can rock on the streets of LA - and on Teams calls.

What’s a major challenge you’ve had to overcome when working on a product release like the one for The Batman?
We have an incredibly rich core Batman product offering that exists in stores and online every single day, from toys to collectibles, costumes to bedding, fashions to foods, and even promotions and theme park experiences. So, one of the biggest challenges when a new film like The Batman is released is to create the right mix of movie-based products that can live alongside our core/everyday product offerings. The ultimate goal is to excite our fans to tap into the movie moment in a major way while also stoking their fandom to continue building their Batman product collections over time as we introduce new takes on the Caped Crusader at retail and online.

What project in your time here are you most proud of?
The Batman 80th Anniversary campaign was a high point for me. “Long Live the Bat” is a battle cry for every Batman fan (myself included) and we took it to the next level as a Warner Media organization. I honestly couldn’t be prouder to say I was a part of some of the most exciting elements of that year-long global celebration, from leading the Batman 5/10K fan run and nighttime “Dark Knight” celebration at LA City Hall on Batman Day, to standing in the atrium of Galeries Lafayette in Paris surrounded by a phenomenal Batman in-store retail experience, to projecting the Bat-signal in the sky over Austin, Texas while thousands of bats flew out at dusk from under Congress Bridge. Batman’s 80th was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I’m thrilled to have co-lead with so many others across the organization.

What’s something you like to do outside of work that brings you joy?

I’m a converted Southern Californian (with an Ohio core) and part of my deep love for this part of the world is tied to the outdoors. I love to hike in Griffith Park a couple of times a week, spend as much time in the desert as I can, and even putter around in my garden all year long even in the depths of winter (Ohio family - sorry/not sorry). Southern California is an amazing place to be a nature lover.

Best advice you’ve ever received?

Be something that no one else can be - be yourself.