James Gunn and Peter Safran Leave DC Studios After Four Years

By Tom Whitfield

James Gunn and Peter Safran will leave DC Studios after four years, with Jeremy Latcham replacing the pair.

Variety reported that Gunn and Safran will both step down from their posts. Peter Safran served as the studio’s co-CEO and chairman. Latcham spent years at Marvel Studios before founding his own production company in 2017.

Variety’s report points to a management change, but it does not set out a new release schedule. Gunn still directs Man of Tomorrow, the Superman sequel Variety says is due next year.

In an Instagram statement, Gunn framed the move through his childhood in Manchester, Missouri. He said he drew comics there “with a mix of DC Comics characters and my own characters.”

He explained why he took the post:

“Having full access to these characters to do whatever we wanted has been a dream come true. I didn’t know if I wanted this job when it was offered to me, but I just couldn’t pass up the unique opportunity. I’m glad I took the job.”

Gunn and Safran took over DC Studios in 2022, according to Variety. At the time, DC held rights to Superman, Batman, Aquaman and the Green Lantern, yet the studio struggled to keep pace with Marvel.

Variety described Marvel as one of Hollywood’s most dominant forces. It also credited Gunn with a major part of Marvel’s earlier success through his direction of the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy.

A mixed box-office record

Variety described Gunn and Safran’s tenure as successful but uneven:

• Superman recorded strong reviews and a $618 million global box office.
• The horror film Clayface delivered what Variety called “solid box office success” on a small budget. The report supplied neither its gross nor its budget, so the scale of its profitability remains unquantified.
• Supergirl failed to make back its $170 million budget.

Variety cautioned that some of DC Studios’ struggles may not be studio-specific. It noted that superhero films have become less of a box-office certainty since their late-2010s/early-2020s peak. That broader shift limits what the three results say about Latcham’s inheritance.

Variety also listed Gunn’s creative work at DC. He wrote and directed Superman, created the animated series Peacemaker, about the titular Suicide Squad character played by John Cena, and directed Man of Tomorrow, the Superman sequel due next year.

In the Instagram statement, Gunn called making Man of Tomorrow “the best filmmaking experience of my life.” That is a personal verdict from the director, not evidence about the sequel’s release or reception.

Gunn praised the “talented and wonderful people” he had worked with, from film casts and crews to Safran. He called Safran “the smartest and most competent person I know.” He also said running DC Studios had often been “trying” as he juggled creative projects with corporate demands.

“I’m always a very hard worker, but as a filmmaker I would at least get to take short breaks to unwind, and I’ve stolen ten that time from both myself and my loved ones over the past four years,” he said.

Gunn said he was “incredibly relieved and excited to get back to pure filmmaking.” Yet he was not “immediately done” with DC.

Along with Man of Tomorrow, he said he and Safran had “just been engaged on another DC project which I’m writing, and we’ll see where it goes after that.” Gunn declined to provide any details.

What does the leadership change mean for DC films?

The immediate answer is limited. Latcham inherits a studio with Superman’s $618 million global result, Clayface’s unquantified small-budget success and Supergirl’s $170 million shortfall. Variety identifies no slate changes, terms for Latcham or next steps for the unnamed project.

Man of Tomorrow remains Gunn’s directorial project, and his work with Safran provides some continuity after both leave. But Gunn disclosed neither the project’s subject nor its next steps, leaving a significant gap in the succession plan.

Latcham’s first test is Man of Tomorrow next year. Beyond that title, Gunn’s Instagram statement leaves the slate, budget priorities and unnamed DC project unstated.