James Gunn and Peter Safran are out as the co-CEO’s of DC Studios, the main team behind projects like Superman, Clayface, Lanterns, and Peacemaker.
The duo are being replaced by Jeremy Latcham, who made his name at Marvel Studios from the very beginning, working under Kevin Feige. And so, it appears that DC’s new overlords at Skydance after its merger with Paramount are looking for some more money out of this whole situation.
“James and Peter began a new era for DC Studios, guiding it through a major transformation and bringing audiences fresh chapters of beloved stories, including Superman, Lanterns and Creature Commandos,” Skydance CEO David Ellison said. “We’re grateful for the passion and care they brought to this work, and for the lasting mark they’ve left on DC.”
Gunn and Safran’s approach to creating self-contained stories rather than an interconnected MCU-like universe had varying returns, but the duo will end their tenure on Dec. 1 before continuing on in their roles for Superman sequel Man of Tomorrow. Anything beyond that is still a question.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Jeremy to DC Studios,” Ellison continued. “As part of the founding team behind the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he helped define the modern superhero movie and powered some of the biggest, most beloved comic book adaptations of our time. We can’t wait to see the stories he’ll bring to life, and how he’ll help build the future of DC for fans everywhere.”
Latcham’s resume is strong, joining Marvel Studios all the way back in 2004 and working in production on such films as Iron Man, Iron Man 2, The Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Age of Ultron, andSpider-Man: Homecoming. He will “will lead DC’s film, television and animation slate, overseeing the creative pipeline, along with production, talent and strategy,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“DC’s pantheon of characters is among the most iconic in American popular culture,” said Latcham in a statement. “I’ve had the privilege to help bring some of the most celebrated superhero stories to life on the big screen, and I’m excited and honored for the opportunity to now lead DC Studios into its next era. The chance to steward the incredible cast of DC characters to the screen in a way that excites lifelong fans while introducing their timeless stories to the next generation is a massive responsibility that I do not take lightly.”
And so DC fans are left wondering what’s next, again, after seemingly yet another reset following Gunn taking over from Zack Snyder’s “SnyderVerse” set of films that were extremely hit or miss (mostly miss).
Will Latcham continue on the path that Gunn and Safran began, or will we get yet another do-over? Don’t forget, DC Studios still has The Batman: Part II releasing next year (in theory), and who knows if that’s its own thing or connected or otherwise. Five years between Batman movies should not happen, but, alas.
“Four years ago, we set out to unite DC under one creative vision, Gunn and Safran said in a joint statement. “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. “We’re immensely proud of the team that turned that ambition into something real, including the actors, crews and executives we had the opportunity to collaborate with.” Gunn had a whole lot more to say on Threads.
I think Gunn and Safran deserved more time to build something special, because Superman was great, Clayface was well-received and turned a profit on a small budget, and fans seem to love Lanterns as well. I always felt like there doesn’t need to be a massive, MCU-like interconnected universe with post-credits scenes in DC, but it appears that Skydance feels differently.
