James Gunn and Peter Safran are stepping down as the co-heads of DC Studios after a four-year run that included a $618 million box office hit and a critical and commercial bomb. Marvel Studios veteran Jeremy Latcham is set to take over as president and chief creative officer starting Dec. 1, steering the DC film, television and animation slate into a new era under the studio's new corporate parent.
A Four-Year Run Ends Under New Ownership
“James Gunn and Peter Safran are out as the heads of DC Studios after a four-year run,” according to the Los Angeles Times, which reports that Latcham will serve as president and chief creative officer of the Skydance-owned studio beginning Dec. 1. The shift comes weeks after the merger between Warner Bros., DC Studios' owner, and Paramount Skydance closed on Oct. 6, as reported by USA Today. Skydance executives David Ellison and Ynon Kreiz praised the outgoing duo's tenure, saying, “James and Peter launched a new era for DC Studios and led it through a period of real transformation,” per the Times account.
Latcham will lead DC's film, television and animation slate, overseeing the creative pipeline along with production, talent and strategy, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He will report to Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein, co-chairs of Skydance Motion Picture Group, the outlet notes. Latcham joined Marvel Studios in 2004 and rose to senior vice president of production and development there, according to a Variety report on the appointment.
Gunn and Safran Aren't Leaving DC Entirely
Despite stepping away from the top leadership roles, Gunn and Safran are expected to return full time to their own creative work, the Los Angeles Times report notes. The pair will remain producers on The Batman: Part II, which is planned for a 2028 release, according to the same Hollywood Reporter account. Meanwhile, the Superman sequel Man of Tomorrow is already in post-production for a planned release next year, per that outlet's reporting.
The leadership change marks the latest in a string of shakeups atop DC's creative operations. Before Gunn and Safran, Geoff Johns and Jon Berg were replaced by veteran producer Walter Hamada, who was later ousted himself, according to IndieWire. The current DC Universe officially began in 2024 with the animated series Creature Commandos and continued into its first movie, the 2025 Gunn-directed Superman, USA Today reports.
A Mixed Box Office Record
That Superman film became the clear high point of the Gunn-Safran era, hauling in more than $618 million in worldwide box office revenue, according to the Los Angeles Times. The follow-up releases told a murkier story. Supergirl's worldwide box-office total is reported differently depending on the outlet: Variety puts it at $126 million against a $170 million budget, calling it “a massive bomb,” while another figure puts it at $126.4 million globally. The Hollywood Reporter similarly describes Supergirl as “a critical and commercial bomb.”
Clayface fared better but still drew differing characterizations. The Hollywood Reporter called it a moneymaker with strong reviews, while IndieWire described its performance as modest; the Los Angeles Times reports that it earned about $109 million worldwide. TheWrap reported that the film grossed $109 million through its first three weekends in theaters. Whatever the final verdict on those two titles, Latcham now inherits a slate that includes both the franchise's biggest recent success and its most debated releases, as DC Studios moves fully under Skydance's management heading into Dec. 1.
