James Gunn and Peter Safran Exiting DC Studios

James Gunn and Peter Safran are leaving their posts as co-CEOs and chairmen of DC Studios after four years in charge, according to Yahoo.

The surprise executive shuffle was announced as DC’s new parent company, Skydance, reported its third-quarter earnings. Skydance took control of DC Studios just 33 days prior through its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. While Skydance CEOs David Ellison and Ynon Kreiz praised the outgoing chiefs for their stewardship, former Marvel Studios producer Jeremy Latcham is stepping in as president and chief creative officer effective December 1.

The departure changes the strategy for a studio that had positioned Gunn and Safran to build a unified superhero slate. Under the leadership of former Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, the pair had brought film, television, and comics under one roof at DC Studios in 2022 to establish a cohesive fictional universe.

Before joining DC, Gunn achieved breakout success with the 2021 film The Suicide Squad, which featured Margot Robbie returning as Harley Quinn alongside a team including Bloodsport, Polka Dot Man, King Shark, and John Cena’s Peacemaker, who later received his own HBO Max series written and partially directed by Gunn.

Skydance co-CEOs David Ellison and Ynon Kreiz arrived directly at Gunn and Safran’s offices on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank on Friday, November 6, to inform them of the change.

Latcham, who left Kevin Feige’s Marvel Studios in 2017 after working on cornerstone MCU films like “Iron Man,” “Iron Man 2,” “The Avengers,” Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Spider-Man: Homecoming, will now report to Skydance film chiefs Josh Greenstein and Dana Goldberg instead of reporting directly to the Warner Bros. CEO.

Although Gunn’s opening salvo grossed $618 million against a $225 million budget, subsequent projects struggled to maintain that momentum.

Reports indicated that Skydance CEO David Ellison had initially backed Gunn and Safran to remain in their roles, even visiting the set of their upcoming projects, while behind-the-scenes negotiations for Latcham’s appointment were already taking place.

Gunn addressed the transition on Instagram, pointing to the administrative burdens of running a major studio alongside his creative work.

the thing my ADHD hyperfocus has had the most difficulty with has been dividing my time between projects I’m incredibly passionate about and the ones I’m not so much and all the things I have to do as a studio head.

I dislike the at-times corporate nature of the job (thanks to Peter for taking the brunt of that).

Reports note that the leadership shakeup casts uncertainty over the expansive 10-year Gods and Monsters roadmap announced in January 2023. However, several productions already deep in the pipeline remain on the active schedule.

Gunn has finished filming the Superman sequel Man of Tomorrow, which returns David Corenswet’s Man of Steel and Nicholas Hoult’s supervillain Lex Luthor to the forefront and retains its July 9, 2027 release date.

Reports add that Gunn was writing a third installment in hopes of establishing a recurring release every two years. The film pipeline also features The Batman Part II, which has faced several delays and is scheduled for release in 2028, six years after Robert Pattinson’s original adventure.

Gorilla Grodd—starring Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen and Jimmy Tatro as the title character—has completed filming and is expected to debut in 2027.

Earlier coverage: Skydance Replaces Gunn and Safran at DC Studios

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