James Gunn and Peter Safran Are Stepping Down From DC Studios, and Jeremy Latcham Takes Over

James Gunn and Peter Safran are leaving DC Studios. The two men who ran DC’s film and TV slate announced on Monday (Nov. 9) that they are stepping down as co-CEOs after four years, and they will formally leave those titles at the top of December, Complex reports, citing a press release from Skydance, the company whose merger gave the Ellison family control of Paramount. Rolling Stone, citing Variety, says Jeremy Latcham, who spent years at Marvel Studios, replaces them. Complex says Skydance has named him president and chief creative officer.

Gunn explained himself in an Instagram statement, and it was candid. “But what only the closest people to me have known over the past four years is my time at DC Studios has been trying, to say the least,” he wrote. He thanked Safran for taking “the brunt” of the corporate side of the job, and said he didn’t know at first if he wanted it. “I just couldn’t pass up the unique opportunity. I’m glad I took the job,” he added. Rolling Stone says he is “incredibly relieved and excited to get back to pure filmmaking.”

Four years ago, we set out to unite DC under one creative vision … In that time, we helped restore Superman to the heart of DC, while opening new doors and telling new stories in film and television with Peacemaker, Creature Commandos, Lanterns, and Clayface.

James Gunn and Peter Safran, Complex

The record is mixed, and Rolling Stone says so. Gunn’s Superman earned strong reviews and $618 million worldwide, and the horror film Clayface has done solid business on a small budget, roughly $109 million globally by Complex’s count. But the Supergirl spin-off didn’t earn back its $170 million budget, per Rolling Stone, which adds that superhero films as a whole are a less certain bet than they were at the start of the decade. We covered the Supergirl opening weekend in June.

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Gunn is not walking away from DC altogether. He directed the Superman sequel, Man of Tomorrow, due next year, and calls it “the best filmmaking experience of my life.” He and Safran are also at work on another DC project that he is writing, and he said “we’ll see where it goes after that.” He declined to give details.

Latcham spent years at Marvel Studios before starting his own production company in 2017. He said he is “excited and honored for the opportunity to now lead DC Studios into its next era.” Gunn and Safran said in their joint statement that they share a creative history with him that goes back to Marvel.