A changing of the guard is coming to DC Studios.
James Gunn and Peter Safran, who have served as CEOs and co-chairmen of DC Studios since 2022, are stepping down from those roles. Effective December 1, they’ll be replaced by Jeremy Latcham, who previously served as Marvel’s senior vice president of production and development, and was involved with the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s “Iron Man,” “Spider-Man,” and “Avengers” franchises, among others.
Gunn posted the following statement on Instagram on Monday:
“Oh, boy. What a four years. Thanks to all of you who have supported me and Peter in our time as the heads of DC Studios. … There have been so many highs along the way — releasing ‘Superman’ and ‘Clayface,’ making ‘Peacemaker,’ reading the scripts to ‘The People Vs [Gorilla Grodd],’ the entire process of ‘Man of Tomorrow,’ which thus far has been the best filmmaking experience of my life, and numerous other moments. The highest of the highs have been all the talented and wonderful people I’ve worked with and grown to love: the DC Studios crew, our talented collaborators, our casts and crews, and the boisterous and hilarious fans. And the best part of all has been working with Peter Safran, the smartest and most competent person I know. You’ve been the best partner a person could ask for, and, more so, a truly good friend.”
Gunn is ‘incredibly relieved and excited’ about returning to ‘pure filmmaking’
“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,” James Gunn’s statement continued. “I dislike the at-times corporate nature of the job (thanks to Peter for taking the brunt of that). I’m always a very hard worker, but as a filmmaker I would at least get to take short breaks to unwind, and I’ve stolen even that time from both myself and my loved ones over the past four years (Jenn, I love you and I’m sorry and you don’t need to feel guilty for being the happiest of all people that I’m no longer doing this job).
“So, yes, I will miss the people around me, and I will miss being the co-caretaker of these great characters, but I’m also incredibly relieved and excited to get back to pure filmmaking.”
Per Gunn’s statement, he and Safran will continue to be involved with various DC projects, despite leaving their posts as executives.
“That’s not to say Peter and I are immediately done with DC or superheroes,” he wrote. “We have ‘Man of Tomorrow’ out this summer. And we’ve just been engaged on another DC project which I’m writing, and we’ll see where it goes after that. And, of course, the characters we set up will live on. Thank you so very, very much for embracing the characters and stories we’ve put on screen.”
Gunn and Safran have led DC Studios since November 2022
James Gunn and Peter Safran were appointed to the roles of DC Studios’ co-chairmen and CEOs in late October 2022, and they officially began in those jobs on November 1 of that year, when the DC Comics entertainment franchise had been floundering. In addition to developing, directing, and producing DC projects, Gunn and Safran were tasked with spearheading “the development and execution of a long-term plan for the many properties licensed from DC Comics,” per the official announcement at the time, “while building a sustainable growth business out of the iconic franchise.”
Chapter 1 of the DCU — dubbed “Gods and Monsters” by Gunn and Safran — officially launched in December 2024 with animated series “Creature Commandos” on the TV side, followed by the David Corenswet-led “Superman” on the film side in July 2025.
Other Chapter 1 projects have included “Supergirl” (which disappointed at the box office), “Clayface,” “Peacemaker,” and “Lanterns” (which wrapped its first season on HBO in October, but has yet to be renewed for Season 2).
Your thoughts on Gunn and Safran stepping down from their DC exec roles? Drop them in a comment below.
