Everyone knew David Ellison’s purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery would lead to job losses in Hollywood. One month ago, though, two positions seemed totally secure. DC Studios co-heads James Gunn and Peter Safran were considered “safe” at the new mega Skydance corporation. But it didn’t take long for them to be anything but. Both men have “stepped down” from leading the DCU. Former MCU veteran Jeremy Latcham is taking over.
Learning Gunn and Safran would not survive the mega merger would not have been that shocking a month ago. Them exiting in a year or two? Also wouldn’t have caught us offguard. But learning today (in news we first heard at The Hollywood Reporter)? Stunning. They seemed to have been in the clear, at least for now. But both men have stepped down from their role. It’s unknown if they really did leave on their own. Skydance might be allowing them to step down rather than fire them. For now all sides are playing nice. In a statement, Skydance co-CEOs David Ellison and Ynon Kreiz said, “James and Peter launched a new era for DC Studios and led it through a period of real transformation, resetting the foundation and building a slate we’re incredibly proud of. We’re grateful for their passion, contributions and commitment to this legendary brand.”
So far Gun and Safran have overseen three featured films and multiple TV shows. Gunn is also in post-production on his Superman sequel, Man of Tomorrow. The duo’s final DCU specific output will also include the release of The People v. Gorilla Grodd. And they’re producers on The Batman: Part II. But whether or not the DCU, which they were hired to lead just four years ago, will continue on without them is also unclear. They had originally announced man, many more projects. However, many have since been cancelled with none on the horizon. That was maybe an indicator today’s news isn’t as shocking as it seems.
In their own statement about stepping down they celebrated their releases. They also shared polite enthusiasm for Latcham, who Gunn worked with at Marvel Studios.
“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,” said Gunn and Safran. “We’re immensely proud of the team that turned that ambition into something real, including the actors, crews and executives we had the opportunity to collaborate with.” They also added, “We’ve shared a creative history with Jeremy going back to Marvel, and we’re eager to see the perspective he brings to DC’s next chapter. We’re excited to return to what drew us to this job in the first place, which is telling the stories we love, including the next chapter of Clark and Lex’s journey in Man of Tomorrow.”
Gunn also shared his own post on social media where he talked about burnout. Noticeably he also talked about the “corporate nature” of the job.”
Latcham’s own history with big time superhero movies dates back to 2004 when he started at Marvel Studios. He eventually became a Senior VP of Production and Development, working closely with Kevin Feige. His MCU credits include Iron Man, Iron Man 2, The Avengers, Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Spider-Man: Homecoming. He’s now taking over as sole CEO, menaing he’ll handle both the creative and financial side of the business.
Eventually we’ll find out if Gunn and Safran were essentially fired, forced out, or if they truly left on their own. We’ll also eventually find out if Latcham will continue developing the DCU they started or if he will reset DC Studios superhero franchise yet again.
Whatever he decides to do, though, one thing is for certain: we were all right about the merger costing Hollywood jobs. He’s doing a job two people had been doing.