LOS ANGELES (BLOOMBERG) - Is Steven Spielberg the superhero Warner Bros.' needs?

The Time Warner Inc film unit has recruited the auteur often credited with creating the summer movie blockbuster to produce and possibly direct his first DC Comics film. Blackhawk, based on a comic book series from the 1940s, is about a squadron of World War II-era pilots battling foes flying fantastical war machines.

Hiring Spielberg, fresh from the moderately successful screen adaptation of the video game saga Ready Player One, could be a major boost for the Burbank, California-based studio. Though last year's Wonder Woman was a critical and box office winner, Warner Bros. has struggled to get a consistent string of hits from its superheros that match the bonanza Walt Disney Co has generated from its Marvel Entertainment unit.

Warner Bros doesn't have a release date scheduled for Blackhawk. Spielberg has a number of films teed up first, including the fifth installment of Indiana Jones and a remake of West Side Story.