James Gunn, Peter Safran Step Down at DC Studios as Skydance Taps Jeremy Latcham

James Gunn and Peter Safran are stepping down as co-heads of DC Studios after four years, and Skydance has named former Marvel Studios executive Jeremy Latcham president and chief creative officer starting Dec. 1, 2026. Gunn and Safran will return to full-time creative work, including the Superman sequel Man of Tomorrow.

Nov 09, 2026 - 13:16

0 4

James Gunn and Peter Safran are stepping down as co-chairmen and CEOs of DC Studios after four years, and Skydance has named former Marvel Studios executive Jeremy Latcham president and chief creative officer of the comic book division, the company announced on Monday, Nov. 9, 2026. Latcham starts on Dec. 1, Deadline reported, while Gunn and Safran return full time to creative work and continue producing DC projects.

Variety described the move as unexpected, noting that the two had been named to David Ellison's leadership team when Paramount's $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery closed in October and the combined company was renamed Skydance. Deadline reported that the announcement came on the same day Skydance was scheduled to report its third-quarter earnings.

A new reporting line

According to the company's announcement, Latcham will lead DC's film, television and animation slate, overseeing the creative pipeline along with production, talent and strategy. He will report to Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein, co-chairs of Skydance Motion Picture Group.

That is a change in structure. The Hollywood Reporter reported that Gunn and Safran had reported directly to former Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav before the merger and to Ellison afterward.

What the executives said

"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," Ellison, Skydance's chairman and CEO, and co-CEO Ynon Kreiz said in a joint statement. "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."

Gunn and Safran said in their own statement: "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 added that they were "excited to return to what drew us to this job in the first place," including the next chapter of Clark and Lex's story in Man of Tomorrow.

Goldberg and Greenstein said Latcham "brings a deep reverence for DC and its passionate fanbase," while Latcham called the job "a massive responsibility that I do not take lightly," according to statements published by TheWrap.

Gunn describes the job as "trying"

In a longer message posted to his social media accounts and reported by Variety, Gunn said his time running the studio "has been trying, to say the least." He wrote: "I dislike the at-times corporate nature of the job (thanks to Peter for taking the brunt of that)." He said he was "incredibly relieved and excited to get back to pure filmmaking," and that he and Safran had "just been engaged on another DC project which I'm writing."

The Hollywood Reporter said it was not yet clear whether the pair chose to leave or were pushed out, noting that Ellison had visited the set of Man of Tomorrow before the merger and that the two had recently presented their long-term plan to him. Deadline reported that its sources had previously said the pair were staying after the acquisition, but that Safran's contract was known to be expiring in the spring.

The record under Gunn and Safran

Zaslav appointed Gunn and Safran in 2022 with a mandate to build a rival to Disney's Marvel Cinematic Universe, Variety reported. Their reboot began with Superman, which grossed about $618 million worldwide. Supergirl, released this past summer, took in $126.4 million globally; Variety put its budget at $170 million, while Deadline reported a net cost of $186 million. Clayface, an R-rated horror film made for a net $44 million, has grossed $109 million worldwide, according to Deadline, which reported it ranked No. 1 worldwide for two consecutive weeks.

On television, the pair oversaw the second season of Peacemaker, the animated series Creature Commandos and the HBO Max series Lanterns. Deadline reported that several projects from the "Gods and Monsters" slate announced in January 2023, including Booster Gold and The Authority, did not move forward.

DC's leadership has changed several times in the past decade. IndieWire reported that DC was previously run by Geoff Johns and Jon Berg and then by producer Walter Hamada.

Latcham's background

Latcham joined Marvel Studios in 2004 and rose to senior vice president of production and development, working with Kevin Feige as the MCU launched, according to Variety. He was an associate producer on Iron Man, a co-producer on Iron Man 2 and an executive producer on The Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Age of Ultron and Spider-Man: Homecoming.

He left Marvel in 2017 to found Latcham Pictures, which held first-look deals at 20th Century Fox, Hasbro and Wonder Project and produced Bad Times at the El Royale and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, Variety reported. Most recently he had an overall deal at Hasbro Entertainment, where he was developing a Dungeons & Dragons sequel and an Action Man film, and he was producing Lionsgate's Naruto adaptation from director Destin Daniel Cretton.

What comes next

Man of Tomorrow, which Gunn wrote and directed, is in post-production and is set to open in theaters on July 9, 2027, Deadline reported. HBO Max's eight-episode series The People v. Gorilla Grodd, starring Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen and Jimmy Tatro as Gorilla Grodd, is due in 2027, and Matt Reeves' The Batman: Part II, with Robert Pattinson, is slated for 2028. The Hollywood Reporter reported that Gunn and Safran remain producers on The Batman: Part II. Polygon reported that it remains unclear how much of the pair's broader plan will continue beyond projects already in development.