The DC Universe just got its biggest shake-up since it started — and the man walking in the door comes straight from the other side of the rivalry.
James Gunn and Peter Safran are out as co-CEOs of DC Studios, four years after they were hired to reboot the superhero brand, The Hollywood Reporter and Variety reported on Monday, November 9. The duo is being replaced by Jeremy Latcham, a former Marvel Studios executive, who will serve as DC Studios' new president and chief creative officer.
Gunn confirmed the news himself in a November 9 statement on Threads, thanking fans who supported him since he took what he called a "dream come true" of a job — but also a trying one. "I dislike the at-times corporate nature of the job," he wrote, adding that the work was time-consuming and that he found it difficult "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." He added that he is "incredibly relieved and excited to get back to pure filmmaking."
The timing is striking. The move comes just weeks after the merger between DC Studios' owner, Warner Bros., and Paramount Skydance was completed on October 6 — and Gunn had previously suggested he and Safran would stay in their roles. In October, Gunn told The Hollywood Reporter that Skydance CEO David Ellison "said he wanted to continue on with what we were doing" and that he and Safran had outlined their DC plans for him. Skydance's statement thanked the pair for launching "a new era for DC Studios" and leading it "through a period of real transformation."
Gunn and Safran's tenure, which began in 2022 after a string of high-profile box office failures in the previous era — including 2017's "Justice League" — had real highs and real lows. The 2024 relaunch of DC's movies and television as a shared world called the DC Universe began with the animated series "Creature Commandos" and its first movie, the 2025 Gunn-directed "Superman." Starring David Corenswet as the new Man of Steel, the reboot drew positive reviews and grossed more than $600 million worldwide. But the very next film was a setback: the Milly Alcock-led "Supergirl," a "Superman" spin-off released in June, flopped at the box office and drew mixed reviews. The studio's third feature, "Clayface" — a dark, R-rated body-horror film set in the Batman universe — has grossed more than $100 million worldwide since its October 23 release, a decent result against a reported $44 million budget. On the TV side, DC Studios released four well-received shows for HBO during their tenure: "The Penguin," "Creature Commandos," "Lanterns" and "Peacemaker" Season 2.
What happens next is the open question. Gunn had discussed plans for a Batman movie titled "The Brave and the Bold" and a new "Wonder Woman" film, though it is unclear how many of those projects continue under the new leadership. "The People v. Gorilla Grodd," a "Superman" spin-off series starring Skyler Gisondo as Daily Planet reporter Jimmy Olsen, has already been filmed. Gunn still has at least one more DC project on the way: the "Superman" sequel, "Man of Tomorrow," which he directed and which releases in July, again starring Corenswet. In his November 9 post, Gunn said he is also currently writing another potential project for DC and teased, "We'll see where it goes after that."
The DAOS take: this is a changing-of-the-guard story, and the symbolism is loud — a Marvel man now runs DC. Gunn built the new DC Universe from the ground up and delivered its biggest hit, but the job pulled him away from the thing that made him the right hire in the first place: making movies. Latcham inherits a universe with a real foundation, a Superman that worked, and a slate full of question marks. The fight game teaches you that a corner change does not win the fight — the fighter still has to show up. DC's next round starts now.
Sources: USA TODAY
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