James Gunn and Peter Safran are stepping down as the heads of DC Studios, four years after they were hired to rebuild Superman, Batman and the rest of the DC universe. Skydance announced the shake-up on Monday, November 9.
The pair will leave their roles as co-chairmen and co-CEOs on December 1, 2026. Former Marvel Studios executive Jeremy Latcham will take over as president and chief creative officer, overseeing the studio’s film, television and animation slate.
The exit is a surprise. Skydance chief David Ellison had named Gunn and Safran to his leadership team when the company’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery closed in October. The pair survived the takeover itself — but not the merger that followed, with Gunn describing his four years running the studio as trying, to say the least.
In a message to fans on Threads, Gunn said he was relieved and excited to get back to pure filmmaking. He confirmed he will still direct Man of Tomorrow, the Superman sequel due in cinemas in July 2027, and revealed he has been engaged on another DC project which he is writing. Trade reports suggest that project could be a third Superman film.
Safran will continue producing alongside Gunn on Man of Tomorrow, The Batman Part II and the series The People vs Gorilla Grodd. The pair were appointed in October 2022 and took charge on November 1 that year, giving their run a length of just over four years.
Latcham arrives with a formidable CV. He learned the franchise business working alongside Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige, and his appointment signals that Skydance wants DC run with the same long-range planning that made Marvel the dominant force in superhero cinema.
The change raises obvious questions about the DC Universe the pair built. Gunn’s Superman rebooted the franchise, and the slate he mapped out — including the Batman sequel and a string of television projects — now passes to new hands. Skydance has thanked both men for resetting the foundation of DC, and promised a smooth and collaborative transition.
For fans, the reassurance is that Gunn is not leaving DC entirely. He is stepping away from the boardroom, not the characters — and the filmmaker who rebuilt the universe will still be writing and directing within it.
The transition also comes at a delicate moment for the studio’s slate. With Man of Tomorrow dated for July 2027 and The Batman Part II in production, Latcham inherits a calendar that is already set — and the freedom to reshape what follows. How much of Gunn’s long-term plan survives, and how much is redrawn, will be the story to watch in the months ahead.
