James Gunn and Peter Safran Exit DC Studios as Skydance Hands Superhero Empire to Marvel Veteran Latcham

LOS ANGELES — James Gunn and Peter Safran are stepping down as co-chief executives of DC Studios. Skydance Motion Picture Group announced the move Monday, ending a four-year run in which the pair rebuilt Warner Bros.' superhero division around Superman and a new shared film and television universe.

Jeremy Latcham will replace them. He is a longtime Marvel Studios producer and executive and helped launch the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He takes over as president and chief creative officer of DC Studios on Dec. 1 and will run DC's film, television and animation slate. He will report to Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein, co-chairs of Skydance Motion Picture Group.

The shakeup is the latest in a series of executive changes since Paramount's $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. Gunn and Safran had initially survived the deal and were named to David Ellison's leadership team at the renamed Skydance. That made Monday's announcement a surprise in Hollywood and among comic book fans.

Skydance Chairman and CEO David Ellison and co-CEO Ynon Kreiz thanked the departing executives in a joint statement.

"James and Peter launched a new era for DC Studios and led it through a period of real transformation, resetting the foundation and building a slate we're incredibly proud of," they said.

They added: "Jeremy has been a longtime creative partner to both, and we have complete confidence that James and Peter will ensure a smooth, collaborative transition and continue this work with care. We look forward to working with Jeremy to build the next generation of DC storytelling and to doubling down on our commitment to fans."

In their own joint statement, Gunn and Safran looked back on their time at the studio.

"Four years ago, we set out to unite DC under one creative vision. In that time, we helped restore Superman to the heart of DC, while opening new doors and telling new stories in film and television with Peacemaker, Creature Commandos, Lanterns and Clayface," they said.

"We're excited to return to what drew us to this job in the first place, which is telling the stories we love, including the next chapter of Clark and Lex's journey in 'Man of Tomorrow.'"

Gunn later posted a more personal message on Instagram and acknowledged that the job had taken a toll.

"What only the closest people to me have known over the past four years is my time at DC Studios has been trying, to say the least," he wrote.

He said the change does not mean a clean break from the franchise. "That's not to say Peter and I are immediately done with DC or superheroes," Gunn wrote, adding, "And we've just been engaged on another DC project which I'm writing, and we'll see where it goes after that."

Warner Bros. Discovery appointed Gunn and Safran co-chairmen and co-CEOs of DC Studios in October 2022, and they took over on Nov. 1 of that year. At the time they reported directly to then-CEO David Zaslav. Gunn was responsible for creative direction, while Safran handled business and production. Their mandate was to end years of disjointed storytelling across DC's film and TV properties and replace it with a single connected universe.

The pair launched that universe with last year's "Superman," which Gunn wrote and directed and which was well received. DC Studios has since released three films and three television series, including "Peacemaker," the animated "Creature Commandos," "Lanterns" and "Clayface."

The executives are leaving about six months before their contracts were due for renewal in April 2027. Observers in the industry are already asking whether Gunn and Safran chose to leave or were pushed out under the new owners. Gunn's description of a "trying" tenure is likely to fuel that speculation.

Many of their projects are already in production, so their influence will last well beyond December. Gunn is still attached as writer and director of "Man of Tomorrow," the follow-up to "Superman," which Safran is producing. It is set for release on July 9, 2027. Both will also remain producers on "The Batman: Part II," due in 2028, and "The People v. Gorilla Grodd," which has finished filming.

Several other projects are less certain. A Wonder Woman reboot, the Batman film "The Brave and the Bold," "Swamp Thing" and a newly announced "Constantine" film are all in development without release dates. Their future under Latcham has not been made clear.

Latcham has long-standing ties to both outgoing executives. During his years at Marvel he was a leading executive on the studio's early films, including "Iron Man" and "The Avengers," and he worked with Gunn and Safran on "Guardians of the Galaxy," the franchise that made Gunn a blockbuster filmmaker.

The new structure also changes where DC sits in the company. Gunn and Safran reported directly to the top of Warner Bros. Latcham will report through Skydance's motion picture group, which brings DC more firmly into the film operation Ellison has been building since the merger.

For fans, the main question is whether the long-term plan Gunn and Safran mapped out will survive the transition. The pair had described a roughly decade-long roadmap for the DC Universe, and much of it may now be revised or dropped under new leadership.

Gunn said in his Instagram post that he is not finished with the characters he helped relaunch, and "Man of Tomorrow" is less than a year from theaters. Skydance has not said whether further changes at DC Studios are planned.