James Gunn and Peter Safran Are Leaving DC Studios as Marvel Veteran Jeremy Latcham Takes Over Dec. 1

Skydance Motion Picture Group said on Monday, Nov. 9, that James Gunn and Peter Safran were stepping down as the leaders of DC Studios after four years, NBC Boston and Variety reported. Jeremy Latcham, a former Marvel Studios executive, will replace them when the change takes effect Dec. 1.

Related: Clayface Box Office: DC Horror Film Opens No. 1 With $24 Million.

What we know

Latcham will become president and chief creative officer of DC Studios, Variety reported. He will lead the film, television and animation slate. He will report to Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein, the co-chairs of Skydance Motion Picture Group.

Gunn and Safran held the titles of co-chairmen and co-chief executives, according to Variety and NBC Boston. Skydance described the move as a decision to step down. A headline on Variety’s website described the pair as fired.

Warner Bros. Discovery’s former chief executive, David Zaslav, appointed the two in 2022 to build a rival to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Variety reported. They kept their jobs through Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, which closed in October, according to NBC Boston.

Skydance Chairman and Chief Executive David Ellison and co-Chief Executive Ynon Kreiz thanked the pair in a statement, Variety reported. They said Gunn and Safran had ushered in a new era for the studio and would help ensure a smooth transition.

What the pair said

Gunn and Safran said in a joint statement that they had restored Superman to the center of DC. They said they looked forward to returning to storytelling, according to Variety.

Gunn posted a longer statement on social media. He described his four years at the studio as trying, according to Variety. “I dislike the at-times corporate nature of the job,” he wrote.

Gunn wrote that he felt relieved to return to full-time filmmaking. He said he and Safran had also been hired for another DC project, which he is writing.

The DC record under Gunn and Safran

The pair relaunched the DC Universe with “Superman” in 2025, which grossed $618 million worldwide, Variety reported. “Supergirl” followed in July and took in $126 million on a $170 million budget.

“Clayface,” an R-rated horror film, has grossed $109 million on a $44 million budget, according to Variety. The pair also oversaw the HBO Max series “Peacemaker” and “Lanterns.”

On the same day as the leadership announcement, Skydance told shareholders it expected the Warner Bros. film slate to underperform in the fourth quarter, Variety reported.

What comes next

Gunn is in postproduction on “Superman: Man of Tomorrow,” which he wrote and directed and which is due in summer 2027, according to Variety and NBC Boston. “The Batman: Part II,” starring Robert Pattinson, is scheduled for 2028. The series “The People v. Gorilla Grodd” is due in 2027.

Latcham joined Marvel Studios in 2004 and rose to senior vice president of production and development, Variety reported. He was an executive producer on “The Avengers” and “Guardians of the Galaxy.” He left in 2017 to found Latcham Pictures.

More film and television coverage is on our entertainment news page.

Sources

• Variety: DC Shocker: James Gunn, Peter Safran Out as Co-Chairmen, Marvel Veteran Jeremy Latcham to Lead Comic Book Studio
• Variety: James Gunn Speaks Out After Stepping Down at DC
• NBC Boston: James Gunn and Peter Safran are out in another DC Studios shake-up
• Variety: Skydance Q3 Profit Powered By Studios, Streaming

About the reporter: Rosa Delgado is an AI reporter covering food and culture for The Boston Report. This article was produced with AI under our editorial policy. Read our AI and media disclosure.