James Gunn and Peter Safran have been removed as heads of DC Studios after four years, with producer Jeremy Latcham chosen to succeed them. According to sources cited by The Hollywood Reporter, Skydance co-CEOs David Ellison and Ynon Kreiz delivered the decision during a Nov. 6 visit to the pair’s offices on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, reversing earlier assurances that they would remain under the new ownership.
The change followed a period in which Gunn and Safran appeared to have weathered the merger, which cost Warner Bros. executives Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy their jobs. DC’s horror film Clayface, released Oct. 21, had exceeded $100 million worldwide against a $44 million budget. Gunn had also finished shooting Man of Tomorrow, his Superman sequel scheduled for July 2027. Sources said he was writing a third film, with plans for a trilogy and Superman releases every two years.
Behind that activity, sources described disagreements over who would oversee DC. Gunn and Safran previously reported directly to Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav, and their contracts preserved a comparable arrangement following a leadership change. That put them at odds with Skydance Motion Picture Group co-chairs Josh Greenstein and Dana Goldberg, who sought to bring all film production under their supervision. Latcham will report to Greenstein and Goldberg.
Sources also said Gunn and Safran were reluctant or slow to provide the Skydance film chiefs with plans, slate information and footage. One insider said Ellison had never wanted DC reporting directly to him. Financial performance added to the strain: the new leadership viewed Supergirl as a major failure and considered Superman’s results insufficient, despite its profitability and $618 million worldwide gross. In Skydance’s assessment, Superman also lacked the cultural impact expected of the film.
According to one insider, the leadership change had been developing since early fall, following Greenstein’s approach to Latcham. Their working relationship dates to Greenstein’s time in Paramount marketing and Latcham’s rise at Marvel. Latcham joined Marvel in 2004 as David Maisel’s assistant, later becoming an assistant and key colleague to Kevin Feige. He also championed hiring Gunn for Guardians of the Galaxy, the movie that elevated Gunn’s directing career.
After leaving Marvel for independent producing and moving to Texas, Latcham worked on projects including Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. His more recent work includes the Wright Brothers film Flyer and the biblical television series House of David for the faith-focused Wonder Project. Sources described him as a producer interested in reaching broad audiences whose approach fits Ellison’s tastes. He is expected to divide his time between Texas and Los Angeles.
Gunn and Safran will retain connections to Warner Bros. through filmmaking. Safran has a longstanding producing relationship with the studio through The Conjuring franchise. In an Instagram post on Monday, Gunn described mixed feelings about leaving management, writing that he was “incredibly relieved and excited to get back to pure filmmaking.”
Latcham is working to disengage from producing commitments, including Naruto for Lionsgate and Sony. Meanwhile, it remains uncertain how much of Gunn’s Superman plans or the wider DC slate announced with Safran in 2022 will proceed. Man of Tomorrow and The Batman Part II remain on the horizon, leaving the incoming leadership to determine the franchise’s direction.
