James Gunn and Peter Safran are leaving their jobs running DC Studios after four years, the studio's owner Skydance said on Monday, Nov. 9. Jeremy Latcham, a former Marvel Studios executive who collaborated with Gunn at Marvel on the "Guardians of the Galaxy" movies, takes over as president and chief creative officer on Dec. 1.
Gunn and Safran are not leaving DC entirely.
Skydance said the pair will go back to making projects full time, starting with "Man of Tomorrow," the "Superman" sequel Gunn is now finishing in post-production, along with other DC projects.
What the studio and its departing chiefs said
Skydance released statements from its leaders and the departing pair, as reported by TheWrap. Skydance chairman and CEO David Ellison and co-CEO Ynon Kreiz said Gunn and Safran "launched a new era for DC Studios and led it through a period of real transformation." The two executives said they expect the pair to "ensure a smooth, collaborative transition."
Gunn and Safran listed their releases. "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,'" they said. Neither statement gives a reason for the change.
Who Jeremy Latcham is
Latcham was part of the early team at Marvel Studios and worked on "Iron Man," "The Avengers" and the Tom Holland "Spider-Man" films. At DC he will oversee everything the studio makes for theaters and TV, animation included. His bosses will be Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein, who run Skydance's film group. They said every DC film and show under Latcham will be made "through the prism of the legions of fans who love and champion it."
Nothing in the statements cancels or delays a project, and "Man of Tomorrow" remains with Gunn. Latcham starts Dec. 1. Skydance has said nothing yet about his plans for the rest of the slate.
