James Gunn and Peter Safran exit DC Studios as Marvel veteran steps in

James Gunn and Peter Safran will step down as the heads of DC Studios on Dec. 1, ending a four-year run in charge of the Superman studio, and Skydance has named Marvel veteran Jeremy Latcham to take over as president and chief creative officer, the company said on Monday.

The move puts one of Hollywood's most valuable superhero franchises in new hands just weeks after a change of ownership. Gunn and Safran had been named to David Ellison's leadership team at the newly renamed Skydance when Paramount's $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery closed in October, which made their exit a surprise, Variety reported.

Their record was mixed. Former Warner Bros. Discovery chief executive David Zaslav appointed the pair in 2022 with a mandate to build a true rival to Disney's Marvel Cinematic Universe. Gunn's Superman reboot earned more than $618 million worldwide. Supergirl, released in July, was a bomb by Variety's account, taking in $126 million on a $170 million budget. Clayface, a darker, R-rated thriller, has grossed more than $109 million on a $44 million budget, a modest result. On streaming, the duo expanded DC with Peacemaker and Lanterns for HBO Max.

Gunn did not hide his relief. In a long statement posted to social media, he called the job a dream for a kid who grew up drawing DC characters in Manchester, Missouri, but said the studio role had worn on him. "I dislike the at-times corporate nature of the job" was how he put it in the post, which Variety published in full. He added that he had given up even short breaks with family over the past four years and credited Safran with taking the brunt of the corporate work. He called Safran the smartest and most competent person he knows.

The two are not leaving DC behind. Gunn wrote and directed Man of Tomorrow, the next chapter in the story of Clark Kent and Lex Luthor, which is in post-production and due in theaters on July 9, 2027, with Gunn and Safran producing. Gunn said they have also just been engaged on another DC project that he is writing. They are producing The Batman Part II, starring Robert Pattinson, and serve as executive producers of The People v. Gorilla Grodd, an eight-episode HBO Max series expected in 2027.

In their joint statement, Gunn and Safran said they had set out to unite DC under one creative vision and helped restore Superman to the heart of the brand. They said they were excited to get back to telling the stories they love.

Latcham arrives with deep Marvel roots. He joined Marvel Studios in 2004 and rose to senior vice president of production and development, working closely with Kevin Feige to launch the MCU. He was associate producer on Iron Man, co-producer on Iron Man 2 and executive producer on The Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Age of Ultron and Spider-Man: Homecoming. He left in 2017 to found Latcham Pictures, which produced Bad Times at the El Royale and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, and most recently held an overall deal at Hasbro Entertainment.

Gunn and Safran said they share a creative history with Latcham going back to Marvel. He will run DC's film, television and animation slate, including the creative pipeline, production, talent and strategy, and will report to Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein, co-chairs of Skydance Motion Picture Group. Ellison and co-CEO Ynon Kreiz thanked the departing pair for resetting the studio's foundation and said they look forward to working with Latcham on the next generation of DC storytelling.

For the business, the question is direction. Gunn's influence will carry through Man of Tomorrow and the projects already in development, but Latcham will now set the wider course of one of Hollywood's biggest superhero franchises, The National noted. His first test is a handoff on Dec. 1, with the sequel to the studio's biggest recent hit arriving next summer. Follow the story on the Lifestyle & Fashion Sector.