Gunn and Safran Out at DC Studios as Skydance Hands the Reins to Marvel Veteran Latcham
James Gunn and Peter Safran are leaving DC Studios, bringing an abrupt end to the four-year partnership that was meant to rebuild Warner Bros.’ superhero universe from the ground up.
Skydance Motion Picture Group announced on Monday, 9 November, that the pair will step down from their roles as co-chairs and co-chief executives on 1 December. Jeremy Latcham, a former Marvel Studios executive, will replace them as president and chief creative officer, taking charge of DC’s film, television and animation slate.
The change comes barely a month after Skydance completed its takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery on 6 October, and it follows the earlier departures of Warner Bros. film chiefs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy.
A Friday meeting on the Warner lot
The decision was delivered in person, according to an inside account published by The Hollywood Reporter. On Friday, 6 November, Skydance chief executive David Ellison and co-chief executive Ynon Kreiz visited Gunn and Safran at the DC offices on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank and told them the company intended to go in a different direction.
The meeting came as a shock, the report said, because Ellison had recently assured the pair they would remain in charge after the takeover. Gunn, by that account, was pressing ahead with his plans: he had just completed filming on “Man of Tomorrow”, the Superman sequel, and was drafting a script for a third Superman film. The relatively strong performance of “Clayface” had also left him and Safran keen to develop similarly budgeted horror films.
Why Skydance decided to move
Several factors appear to have driven the decision, according to people familiar with the situation cited by The Hollywood Reporter.
First, Ellison was said to be unimpressed by DC Studios’ returns on investment so far. The 2025 film “Superman” led the studio’s releases but, in the new owners’ view, failed to achieve the pop-culture impact expected of DC’s flagship hero. “Supergirl” underperformed, while the modest earnings of “Clayface” did little to change the picture.
Second, there was a clash over structure. Under Ellison, Skydance Motion Picture Group co-chairs Josh Greenstein and Dana Goldberg report directly to the chief executive. Gunn and Safran, however, held a contract stipulation from the deal they signed with former Warner Bros. chief David Zaslav that they would report directly to the very top, whoever held the job.
Finally, sources told The Hollywood Reporter that Gunn and Safran “were not forthcoming or were slow in sharing plans, slate details, and footage” with Greenstein and Goldberg, a frustration that appears to have sealed their fate.
What happens to the DC slate
The shake-up does not mean Gunn and Safran are finished with DC altogether. Both will remain producers on “Man of Tomorrow”, which Gunn is directing for release in summer 2027, and on “The Batman Part II”, due the same year.
Gunn also indicated that more work may follow. In a farewell message posted on Threads, he wrote: “That’s not to say Peter and I are immediately done with DC or superheroes. We have ‘Man of Tomorrow’ out this summer. And we’ve just been engaged on another DC project which I’m writing, and we’ll see where it goes after that.”
Gunn’s farewell
Gunn struck a relieved tone in his public farewell.
“I will miss the people around me, and I will miss being the co-caretaker of these great characters, but I’m also incredibly relieved and excited to get back to pure filmmaking,” he wrote.
Safran will continue in a producing capacity.
Who is Jeremy Latcham?
Latcham arrives with a CV that mirrors the job he is taking on. As a founding member of the team behind the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he helped build the most successful superhero franchise in cinema history, producing films including “Guardians of the Galaxy” before founding his own production company.
Announcing the appointment, Ellison said: “We’re thrilled to welcome Jeremy to DC Studios! As part of the founding team behind the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he helped define the modern superhero movie and powered some of the biggest, most beloved comic book adaptations of our time.”
Gunn and Safran took over DC Studios on 1 November 2022, promising a single coordinated vision across films, television and animation. Four years on, that vision belongs to someone else.
Related coverage: Godzilla Minus Zero’s record box office opening, Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey passing $1.17 billion, and Skydance’s announcement of the DC Studios shake-up.
Frequently asked questions
When do James Gunn and Peter Safran leave DC Studios?
They step down on 1 December 2026, with Jeremy Latcham taking over the same day.
Will James Gunn still direct the Superman sequel?
Yes. Gunn remains director of “Man of Tomorrow”, due in summer 2027, and he and Safran will produce it and “The Batman Part II”.
Who is Jeremy Latcham?
A former Marvel Studios executive and founding member of the team behind the Marvel Cinematic Universe, who produced “Guardians of the Galaxy”.
