James Gunn And Peter Safran's DC Studios Exit Explained: Everything We Know

If you thought you had a rough start to the work week, that's nothing compared to the curveball that the freshly-merged Skydance corporation just threw at the two former co-heads of DC Studios. The news that both James Gunn and Peter Safran will be replaced by ex-Marvel suit Jeremy Latcham to oversee the superhero franchise came as a shock to the industry, not least of all because of the many, many unanswered questions this shakeup inevitably raised. Was this a result of creative tensions between the filmmaker side and Skydance CEO David Ellison's incoming executives? Could this have an impact on Gunn's currently-in-development "Superman" sequel titled "Man of Tomorrow"? Will Latcham pick up where his predecessors left off, or are we in for yet another reboot starting from scratch?

There's now at least some light being shed on this incredibly murky situation, at least. Late last night, The Hollywood Reporter published an inside look at exactly how this leadership change went down and — most intriguingly — why. According to the report, Gunn was full speed ahead on his plans for the DC Universe. He'd just completed filming on "Man of Tomorrow," the relatively successful release of "Clayface" made him and Safran bullish on developing similarly-budgeted horror flicks, and Gunn was even drafting a script for a third "Superman" film. All that changed on November 6, 2026, reportedly, when Ellison and co-CEO Ynon Kreiz personally visited Gunn and Safran on the Warner Bros. lot and informed them of their choice to go in a different direction ... despite recently assuring them that they would remain in charge following Skydance's takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery.

As it turns out, there were multiple factors behind this 180-degree pivot that led to such a dramatic breaking point.

In retrospect, the writing was probably on the wall for quite some time. Following the corporate merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, the THR report indicates that Skydance had multiple causes for concern with James Gunn and Peter Safran's leadership. For one thing, David Ellison was less than impressed by DC Studios' returns on investment thus far, with 2025's "Superman" leading the pack ... though failing to achieve the "pop culture impact" they expected from DC's flagship hero. The disastrous release of "Supergirl" speaks for itself, while it's likely that the humble earnings of "Clayface" did little to move the needle.

But that's only scratching the surface. Elsewhere, the blame goes to the tricky hierarchy of studio politics. Under Ellison, Skydance Motion Picture Group co-chairs Josh Greenstein and Dana Goldberg are the ones reporting directly to the CEO. But, thanks to the deal they signed with David Zaslav, Gunn and Safran had a contract stipulation that they would report directly to the very top — whether Zaslav was still in charge or not. Between this and their Kevin Feige-like creative control over every DC film and show under their purview, well, it's easy to see why they were running on borrowed time.

Lastly, THR sources suggest Gunn and Safran "were not forthcoming or were slow in sharing plans, slate details, and footage" with Greenstein and Goldberg. This (probable) nail in the coffin likely sealed their fates, all but ushering in Jeremy Latcham as a voice that Ellison could trust to toe the company line. While it remains uncertain how significant this creative reboot will be, it's clear that fans should expect Latcham's DC Studios to follow a very different course — for better or worse.