Less than two years after the DC Universe officially began, James Gunn has exited his leadership role at DC Studios alongside Peter Safran in a stunning shakeup. After delivering critically acclaimed hits in The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker season 1, Gunn was hired to run DC Studios alongside Safran in October 2022 by former Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav.
However, just four years later, and two years after the DCU officially started, this era is already over. It was announced on November 9, 2026, as part of Skydance’s quarterly earnings call that Gunn and Safran were out as the heads of DC Studios. The news comes as a massive shock, considering all reports regarding their future after Skydance finalized the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger pointed to them sticking around for the long haul.
Instead, Gunn and Safran’s reign concludes after releasing six DCU movies and shows from 2024 to 2026 across live-action and animation. It marks the latest creative change for DC on the big screen, after the likes of Zack Snyder, Jon Berg, Geoff Johns, and Walter Hamada all had opportunities to lead Warner Bros.’s efforts to turn its vast DC Comics library into a consistent blockbuster producer.
Gunn and Safran’s exits raise a lot of questions about the future of the DCU, as well as how we got to this point at all, much less so quickly.
Who Is Replacing James Gunn & Peter Safran At DC Studios (& Why Were They Replaced?)
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Gunn and Safran have been replaced by Jeremy Latcham. He is a veteran of Marvel Studios, becoming the SVP of Production and Development by the end of his tenure, which concluded in 2017. During his time with the MCU, he produced Iron Man, The Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy (where he first worked with Gunn), Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Spider-Man: Homecoming, giving him over $5 billion of experience producing superhero movies.
Latcham is a great, well-respected producer, and will start leading DC Studios on December 1, reporting to Skydance Motion Picture Group co-chairs, Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein. He’s ultimately a strong choice to lead DC into the future, even if the change that he’s now connected to causes confusion.
Skydance hasn’t formally addressed the reason why Gunn and Safran are being replaced by Latcham, but the answer is clear. Their DCU got off to an excellent start with Superman becoming a critical and financial success. That did not lift the rest of its releases. Supergirl bombed (making $126 million off a $175 million budget), while Clayface has been a solid, but not widespread, hit (grossing $109 million off a $40 million budget).
Without audiences clearly showing an overwhelming interest in the DCU’s movies and shows, there was enough room for Skydance to come in and make a change earlier than most ever thought possible after one wasn’t made immediately upon the merger closing.
Gunn and Safran’s interests also played a role in the decision. They will return to creative work full-time. For Gunn, that should mean strictly focusing on writing and directing projects he’ll make, while Safran can look to exclusively produce. This is an opportunity that Gunn says he is “incredibly relieved and excited to get back to,” as he shared in his official statement:
James Gunn’s Man Of Tomorrow Is Still Happening (& He’s Working On Another DC Movie Too)
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The good news for Gunn and fans of his vision of the DCU is that his exit doesn’t change much for Man of Tomorrow. The movie is already finished filming and deep in post-production ahead of its July 9, 2027 release date. Gunn and Safran will continue working on putting the finishing touches on the movie up until that point.
An argument could be made that this is for the best for Man of Tomorrow. The duo will now be able to put their full attention behind this movie, rather than figuring out how other projects can move forward. They can focus entirely on delivering the best Superman movie imaginable.
The only difference now is that Gunn and Safran have more people to answer to. Latcham will certainly have some level of input as post-production comes along. Skydance’s co-chairs Goldberg and Greenstein could also have enough influence to shape how it shakes out. One can’t even rule out Skydance CEO David Ellison providing his thoughts.
Man of Tomorrow won’t be the end of Gunn’s DC journey, though. He’s confirmed that he’s writing a secret DC movie that Safran will produce, and that they will “see where it goes after that,” suggesting they could stick around even longer.
Which Other DCU Movies & TV Shows Are Confirmed To Be Happening
Beyond Man of Tomorrow, the DCU slate becomes a lot more questionable. It is confirmed that Creature Commandos season 2 and The People v. Gorilla Grodd are already in production, and both should be ready to release on HBO Max in 2027. Mister Miracle is also far enough along to come out in 2028.
Confirmed Upcoming DCU Movies & Shows
Post-production; Releasing July 9, 2027
Finished filming; Releasing on HBO Max in 2027
Post-production; Releasing on HBO Max in 2028
That is where the certainty ends for upcoming DCU movies Gunn and Safran were developing. Supergirl‘s Ana Nogueira has been writing scripts for Wonder Woman and Teen Titans films, but neither is known to be far enough along to happen for sure. The Bane and Deathstroke movie, Savage Hunters, also may no longer happen.
Elsewhere, The Brave and the Bold and Swamp Thing could still happen, but potentially not in their current iterations. Waller, Booster Gold, Lanterns season 2, and more are unknowns. The newly-developed John Constantine film could also now be shuttered.
Two projects we know will still happen include The Batman Part II and Dynamic Duo. The former is not part of the DCU and was in development from before Gunn and Safran took over, while the latter is a bold animated film already in production they helped push forward, giving it a 2028 release date.
Is The DCU Over, And What About Gunn & Safran’s 10-Year Plan?
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The future of the DCU is undeniably the biggest question that comes from this announcement. It was just a few days ago that Gunn dedicated an entire podcast to determining if The Suicide Squad was DCU canon, and now we don’t even know with certainty that this canon will continue for more than a year. With Man of Tomorrow, The People v. Gorilla Grodd, and Creature Commandos season 2 still to come, the DCU isn’t officially dead just yet.
Whether it continues beyond that is up to Latcham, and arguably fans, too. It could be incredibly damaging to DC’s brand to usher in another reboot so soon after the DCU did one, even if Gunn kept some pieces of the DCEU. A full-on reboot could be best in that regard, but audiences could also reject that. After all, people really like Corenswet as Superman and many of the casting decisions the DCU has made.
Man of Tomorrow could wind up playing a big role in determining DC’s future. If it is a huge hit, DC Studios will have less of a need to reset everything, allowing Corenswet to continue on, Gunn to possibly come back to finish a Superman trilogy, and keep other key castings around. For instance, if Adria Arjona is Wonder Woman in Man of Tomorrow and audiences love her take, it would be foolish not to keep her around.
A continuation of the DCU just without Gunn and Safran’s leadership appears to be the plan, at least for now. Gunn’s statement says, “the characters we set up will live on.” Whether that proves to be true long term remains to be seen, but he’s selling the idea that the DCU isn’t over just because he isn’t in charge anymore.
This does not mean that their 10-year plan will stay intact. It is up to Latcham to steer the bigger picture now, or even decide if that is what DC should be doing. Elements of Gunn and Safran’s plan could still come through depending on their ties to DC going forward, but it won’t be exactly like how they envisioned or up to them.
DC Will Likely Prioritize Heavy Hitters Going Forward
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Whatever comes next, it is safe to assume that Latcham will prioritize getting DC’s heavy hitters up and running in this universe. Gunn and Safran only managed to get Superman in front of audiences, with Batman held up by The Batman 2‘s delays and Wonder Woman not being a staple from the get-go. Gunn’s desire to mix in smaller films like Clayface was admirable, but they are not the strongest plays for a new universe.
It is in Latcham’s best interest to get Batman and Wonder Woman back on the big screen. Green Lantern and Aquaman are other staples of the DC brand that could become priorities as the DCU builds to assembling the Justice League. Skydance and the DCU need major box office hits and sustainable franchises at this point. Going back to DC’s biggest characters and IP makes the most sense to accomplish that and give the DCU a great future after James Gunn‘s exit.
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