James Gunn and Peter Safran have stepped down as co-chairs and CEOs of DC Studios after four years in charge of the superhero franchise.
Skydance, the new owner of Warner Bros following its blockbuster merger with Paramount Pictures, announced on 9 November that former Marvel Studios executive Jeremy Latcham will take over as President and Chief Creative Officer of DC Studios. Gunn and Safran will vacate their respective roles in December.
As Hollywood shake-ups go, this one comes as a major surprise. Only weeks earlier, both were named in Skydance Chairman and CEO David Ellison’s leadership team when Paramount’s US$111 billion takeover of Warner Bros Discovery closed in October.
James Gunn leaves DC Studios – quick links
A trying four years
Gunn and Safran were appointed by Warner Bros Discovery in late 2022. Their mandate was clear – fix things. They were tasked with giving DC a unified creative direction across film, television and animation, in the vein of Marvel Studios under Kevin Feige.
Gunn, who became a household name after directing Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, would lead the creative side. Safran, a producer of the Conjuring and Aquaman films, was focused on business and production.
In a statement after the announcement, Gunn said few people knew that his time at DC Studios had been ‘trying, to say the least’. He said he disliked the corporate side of the job and thanked Safran for shouldering most of it. He also said he was relieved to return to full-time creative work.
Ellison and Skydance Co-CEO Ynon Kreiz credited the pair with launching a new era for DC Studios and resetting its foundations. They said Gunn and Safran had built a slate the company was proud of.
Hits and misses
The duo’s rebooted DC Universe launched with Gunn’s Superman in 2025, starring David Corenswet. It drew strong reviews and solid, if not spectacular, box office sales.
On television, Creature Commandos, the second season of Peacemaker, and Lanterns all arrived under their watch.
The second film in the new universe stumbled. Supergirl, starring Australian actor Milly Alcock, opened in June and became one of the year’s biggest box office disappointments. Body horror film Clayface followed in October.
What happens to DC Studios’ slate?
Gunn and Safran aren’t leaving DC entirely. Gunn is still directing Man of Tomorrow, the Superman sequel due in cinemas in July 2027, with Safran producing.
Both remain producers on Matt Reeves’ The Batman: Part II and on The People v. Gorilla Grodd. Gunn also said he is writing one more DC film, featuring characters he and Safran set up to outlive their tenure.
The larger question is what happens to the decade-long plan the pair mapped out for the franchise. That now falls to Latcham, who spent years at Marvel Studios as a producer and executive and has a long working relationship with both men.
Safran said they shared a creative history with Latcham going back to Marvel, and were eager to see what he brings to DC’s next chapter.
Part of a wider Skydance shake-up
The DC changes are the latest in a run of moves as Skydance merges Paramount and Warner Bros. The company has also launched a global voluntary buyout program and a five-day return-to-office mandate. It has even reached Australia, where Skydance owns Network 10.
For Gunn, the exit marks a return to where his career started: making films rather than managing them.
