It’s happened again: the hierarchy of power in the DC Universe has changed once more. And this time, behind the scenes – because James Gunn and Peter
It’s happened again: the hierarchy of power in the DC Universe has changed once more. And this time, behind the scenes – because James Gunn and Peter Safran will no longer serve as co-CEOs of DC Studios. The pair were appointed four years ago, representing a more filmmaker-driven approach for DC’s film and TV adaptations – but already, the duo has been ousted from their leadership roles; per THR, Gunn and Safran as ‘stepping down’, but according to Variety, they have been ‘fired’.
Either way, Safran and Gunn will be finishing their tenure in the very near future, succeeded by Jeremy Latcham as President and Chief Creative Officer from December 1. Latcham was formerly at Marvel Studios, and has considerable experience in corralling major comic book franchises to the screen. As per Safran and Gunn, he’ll be in charge of film, TV and animation at DC Studios – and will report under the up-to-date Skydance overlords following Warner Bros’ takeover from Paramount.
Gunn and Safran will continue to work on Man Of Tomorrow, the sequel to Superman once again written and directed by Gunn, which stars David Corenswet and Nicholas Hoult as Superman and Lex Luthor, respectively. It’s unknown whether Latcham will continue with Gunn’s DCU continuity – which so far consists of Peacemaker, Creature Commandos, Superman, Supergirl, Lanterns, and the recently-released horror movie Clayface. Beyond Man Of Tomorrow, future DC projects in production include HBO series The People V. Gorilla Grodd, with Skyler Gisondo reprising his role as Jimmy Olsen.
Whatever comes next, it continues to be the case that DC’s screen arm is proving a tricky nut to crack. Superman made over $618 million at the box office last summer, but arrived to mixed reviews; Supergirl landed this summer to a much smaller $126 million figure; while Clayface – a smaller-budget film – currently sits at a solid but unspectacular $109 million. Stay tuned to see how much of the proposed Gunn and Safran slate continues under Latcham, or if the DCU is going to face yet another inventive overhaul and a shift in continuity.
