Huayu Entertainment 1995 started with hijacking.

Chapter 260 The Superhero Who Came to the Door
The entire conference room fell silent. Many bystanders were swallowing hard, still traumatized by Eisner's outbursts in the past; His Majesty's authority at Disney was far too profound. However, to everyone's surprise, Eisner's angry roar did not materialize.

Eisner, with a stern face, turned to a senior executive in charge of human resources and asked, "Michelle, what is the retirement age for Disney employees according to company regulations?"

Michelle immediately replied, "70 years old."

Eisner continued, "So how old is Roy Disney this year?"

Michelle paused. She wasn't unaware of Roy Disney's age; as the only remaining member of the Disney family among the company's senior executives, Roy Disney was a key figure to be focused on, and she certainly knew that. But she also knew what Eisner was thinking at this moment…

Michelle glanced at Roy Disney, whose face had changed color and who vaguely realized what was about to happen, but Eisner raised his voice: "Answer me!"

Under Eisner's persistent questioning, Michelle immediately replied, "72 years old, Roy is already 72 years old this year!"

"Eisner, how dare you..."

Before Roy Disney could finish speaking, Eisner interrupted him with an even louder voice:
"We at Disney are a family that cares deeply for our employees, and we are a company that upholds the principles of fairness and equality! For the sake of our employees' health, Roy Disney will be retiring today and will no longer hold any position in the company!"

Many people were stunned by Eisner's statement. Roy was the company's largest individual shareholder, a member of the board of directors, and his surname alone represented Disney. To the public, Roy was the face of Disney; he represented the soul of Disney!
Although Disney has a retirement policy and age limits, it has hardly been enforced for many years. Those legendary animated film veterans work as long as they want, one of whom worked until he passed away at the age of 95.

If Roy were to retire voluntarily, that would be one thing, but forcing him to retire will definitely have a significant impact on the company.

An executive tried to persuade him: "Mr. Eisner, shouldn't we reconsider this matter..."

Eisner gave him a death stare: "Are you questioning the company's decisions and rules? Or do you want Disney to be branded as exploiting the elderly? We at Disney are not cold-blooded capitalists!"

Eisner was well aware that removing Roy Disney would cause turmoil. That was why he had tolerated the old man in the past. But now things were different. His own situation was precarious, and he had to eliminate all dissenting voices within Disney and unite the company as one in order to safely navigate this shareholders' meeting.

Therefore, even if it comes at a price, we must make an example of them to let them know who is in charge of Disney, and that he is still the one who has the final say!

Those who had tried to dissuade him were silenced by Eisner's words. Now, Eisner was using company rules and regulations as leverage, making Roy's forced retirement seem justified, and even citing the need to care for the health of an elderly person as his reason. Who could argue with that?

Then, Eisner smiled and said to those around him, "Let's all give a round of applause to send Roy Disney off into a pleasant retirement!"

After he finished speaking, Eisner was the first to clap, and his confidants naturally followed suit immediately. Then the others at the table also clapped, but many of them looked at Roy Disney with pity as they clapped.

Roy Disney joined Disney in 1954 and has been with the company for 48 years. He is a member of the Disney family and has dedicated most of his life to Disney. With Disney's 50th anniversary just two years away, he has been forced into retirement by Eisner, having all his positions removed.

Applause echoed in the conference room. Roy Disney, his face a mixture of fear and anger, stood up shakily, trembling with rage, and pointed at Eisner, shouting:

"You dictatorial, autocratic, greedy, and incompetent vampire, I will no longer let you leech off Disney! I will not let you lead Disney into the abyss!"

Upon hearing this, Eisner stopped clapping, his face darkening once more. However, he ignored Roy Disney and instead said to the person beside him, "Miles, why aren't you asking the retired staff to leave the meeting room?"

Miles immediately stood up, walked over to Roy Disney, and whispered to him, "Roy, let's go, let's be more dignified."

One of the men next to Roy Disney also stood up, sighed, and said to him, "Roy, you should leave first. I'll go with you."

Roy Disney knew that staying any longer wouldn't change anything. Before leaving, he gave Eisner one last fierce glare, determined to fight Eisner to the death and bring him down!

After Roy Disney left through the door, Eisner scanned the room again: "Does anyone have any objections?"

No one dared to utter a sound. Even Roy Disney, the old mascot of the Disney family, had been dismissed. Who would dare to object? They could all see that anyone who dared to speak out would be dismissed by Eisner.

Although many people were actually dissatisfied with Eisner's handling of the situation and felt a sense of shared sorrow for Roy Disney, these smart people wouldn't jump out on the spot.

Roy Disney, who had been kicked out of the meeting room, walked angrily. His companion said to him:
“Roy, you shouldn’t have been so impulsive. Right now, Eisner is like a lion protecting its position. He will silence any voice that threatens him. You could have waited until the shareholders’ meeting to step forward.”

"This is a disgrace! A disgrace to Disney! The Disney family has been kicked out of Disney!" Roy Disney shouted angrily, waving his hand.

"I won't wait until the shareholders' meeting to gamble. If Eisner stays in this position, Disney will be finished! I will use all my power to remove Eisner from office!"

……

Meanwhile, Wu Yuchen was receiving two senior executives from Warner.

"I'm sorry, I can only receive you two at our workplace."

"Wu, we apologize for bothering you. Your dedication truly earns my sincere admiration. In the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, it's rare to find someone like you who, after achieving such great success, can still devote themselves wholeheartedly to their work!"

One of them immediately began to flatter Wu Yuchen.

Wu Yuchen chuckled and said, "This is an essential quality for every filmmaker. There's an old Chinese saying: 'If you don't work hard when you're young, you'll regret it when you're old.' I still have many goals I want to pursue, and I don't want to be left with only regrets and remorse when I'm old."

"Wu, you are truly a role model that every filmmaker in Hollywood should learn from!" "Wu, Chinese proverbs are so philosophical, just like this cup of Chinese tea, leaving a lingering fragrance and a long-lasting aftertaste, it's really quite charming!"

Wu Yuchen's eyes lit up, and he smiled, saying, "Mr. McGonagall, it seems you know a lot about Chinese tea culture~"

"Oh, of course! Chinese culture is very fascinating. It's not just tea culture; whether it's kung fu or its long history, it all fascinates me. I plan to take my whole family on a trip to China this year!"

"Oh, then you must contact me in advance so I can show you the hospitality of a host!"

Wu Yuchen knew that the other party was definitely trying to please him, but he was also very happy to have this opportunity to promote his country and culture.

After a friendly exchange of pleasantries, the group slowly began to get down to business.

"Wu, aren't you planning to continue making big-budget productions this year?"

Wu Yuchen smiled and shook his head: "My goal this year is the Oscars. I've already been nominated for Best Director twice, and I hope I won't have any regrets this third time."

The two Warner representatives exchanged a glance, and one of them said, "Wu, your two nominations have given you enough points. We sincerely wish you success this time!"

Wu Yuchen smiled and nodded, then heard McGonagall ask him, "Wu, actually, we also wanted to extend an invitation to you this time."

"what?"

Are you interested in rebooting the Superman and Spider-Man series?

This topic was exactly what Wu Yuchen expected. After all, Warner had already been visited by several companies, including Paramount, Universal, and MGM, and Warner's purpose was nothing more than these.

Wu Yuchen smiled and said, "Harry Potter is all the rage right now, shouldn't Warner Bros. be focusing on magical boys?"

"Of course, Harry Potter is our most important project at Warner Bros. But Superman and Batman are just as popular as Harry Potter. If you, Wu, are willing to reboot them, Warner Bros. will value them no less than we value Harry Potter!"

Wu Yuchen initiated the Spider-Man project, which has now achieved tremendous success, making it incredibly attractive to Warner Bros. In terms of popularity, history, and heritage, Superman and Batman surpass Spider-Man.

If Spider-Man can be so popular, will Superman and Batman achieve even more explosive success if they are in Wu Yuchen's hands?

After this idea was conceived within WarnerMedia, a consensus was reached that Wu Yuchen was the most suitable person to reboot the Superman and Spider-Man series!

Wu Yuchen did not answer immediately. He picked up his tea and took a sip, recalling the history of the Superman and Spider-Man film series in his mind.

Superman first appeared on the big screen in 1948, though it was produced by Columbia Pictures. Subsequent films included Atom vs. Superman, Superman vs. Moleman, and The Day Superman Was Born.

However, the Superman series that people talk about now starts with Warner Bros.' 1978 film, *Superman*, starring Christopher Reeve. *Superman* grossed over $300 million, establishing Superman's legendary status. In the following decade, Warner Bros. made numerous films around Superman, including not only the four-part series but also films like *Superman v Superman: Swamp Thing* and *Supergirl*.

Warner Bros. wanted to continue making the Superman series. While Superman 4 was still being filmed, they had already decided on the name and plot of the fifth movie. Unfortunately, Superman 4 was a box office failure in 87, only grossing $1500 million, which brought the Superman series to an end.

After the Superman series was frozen, Warner Bros. turned its attention to another DC superhero on par with Superman, Batman. Since people were tired of Superman, they decided to bring Batman to the big screen.

Actually, the first Batman feature film was made back in 66, but it didn't generate much buzz at the time. However, with the experience of making Superman, Warner Bros. is confident about Batman.

This decision proved to be correct. Two years after the failure of *Superman IV*, *The Batman* hit the big screen, grossing $410 million on a $35 million budget—a huge success! Following this, for nearly a decade, there were *Batman Returns*, *Batman Forever*, and the critically panned *Batman & Robin*. The *Batman* series was then frozen.

In other words, the 1980s and 90s were essentially a decade-long reign for Superman and Batman. These two superheroes had long been deeply ingrained in the hearts of the American people and had even spread worldwide. Warner Bros., though freezing their franchises, had no intention of giving up.

Now that Wu Yuchen has created the success of "Spider-Man", they have seen hope for rebooting "Superman" and "Batman".

Wu Yuchen fell into deep thought, mainly considering his future film plans. Actually, he came to America with two goals: to win an Oscar and to make money from big-budget commercial productions. Awards and honors, and commercial influence, would both enhance his status.

Now, his only remaining Oscar goal is Best Director. He's preparing for that this year, and if that doesn't work out, he'll have to keep trying.

In terms of business, recalling the development of his previous life, he realized that after entering the 21st century, the global film industry basically entered the era of big-budget series films.

就比如说历年的全球票房冠军，除了2000年阿汤哥的《碟中谍2》5.46亿拿了一个冠军外，之后的2001年《哈利·波特与魔法石》9.74亿，2002年《指环王2》9.47亿，2003年《指环王3》11.4美元，再往后几年分别是《怪物史莱克2》《哈利·波特与火焰杯》《加勒比海盗2》《加勒比海盗3》《蝙蝠侠2：黑暗骑士》。

Have you noticed? They were all film series with huge fan bases, until 2009 when the truck driver brought Avatar and shattered everything, salvaging some dignity for original films. But after Avatar, film series once again took over.

It's safe to say that unless you make a movie like Avatar that brings revolutionary technology, you can't beat established film series with a fan base if you make an original film.

This is also a question that Wu Yuchen has been considering recently. If he wants to continue to expand his commercial influence, it seems that he can't avoid shooting a series of films.

(End of this chapter)