James Gunn and Peter Safran have been removed as co-presidents of DC Studios, with Marvel veteran Jeremy Latcham set to take over. Their last day in the role is December 1.
The leadership change follows David Ellison’s Skydance Paramount completing its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns DC Studios.
Gunn and Safran had led DC Studios for roughly four years, during which the studio’s box office results were mixed at best. Superman, released in 2025, grossed $618 million globally, a figure some industry observers believe may have only allowed the film to break even given its production and marketing costs. Supergirl, released in 2026, performed far worse, taking in just $126 million worldwide against a combined production and promotion budget that approached $300 million.
DC’s most recent release, Clayface, is still in theaters. The film reportedly cost around $100 million including promotion, meaning it likely needs roughly $200 million in global box office to break even. As of now, it has grossed $110 million.
On television, Peacemaker ran for two seasons but did not generate broader momentum for the DC brand. The first season of Lanterns drew a sharply divided response from fans.
Gunn remains attached to a Superman sequel, Man of Tomorrow, currently scheduled for release next year, though his departure from the studio’s leadership raises questions about how that project will proceed.
DC’s broader film output has also remained fragmented during Gunn and Safran’s tenure, with Batman and Joker films produced outside the DC Studios universe that Gunn oversaw, leaving the franchise’s continuity split across separate, unconnected projects.
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