Fans of DC Entertainment and its characters have wondered why the company seems intent on keeping its movie and various TV universes separated, especially when Marvel has had so much success with the “it’s all connected” approach.

Speaking to Variety at an industry summit, DC head Diane Nelson explained that they keep these series and universes separate to allow for the greatest possible amount of creative freedom for the talents involved in making them, pointing out that the strategy has allowed for shows like Gotham and Supergirl to have completely different tones.

“We’re so talent driven,” Nelson said, adding that focusing on keeping everything in a single continuity “could end up handcuffing our creators into trying to work with the same storyline or force them to hold back characters or introduce certain characters. Ultimately it hinders the ability for someone like (showrunner) Bruno Heller to come in and create Gotham.”

While Nelson admits that the shared universe approach “has worked beautifully” for Marvel, it did not make sense for DC.