Marvel veteran Jeremy Latcham takes over DC Studios as James Gunn and Peter Safran step down

DC Studios is getting a new leader after Skydance Motion Picture Group announced that James Gunn and Peter Safran are stepping down as co-chief executives. The change comes just four years after they took charge of the superhero film unit and follows Skydance's merger with Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Pictures.

New Leadership

Skydance chairman and chief executive David Ellison has appointed former Marvel Studios executive Jeremy Latcham as the new president and chief creative officer of DC Studios. Latcham previously worked on major Marvel films like Iron Man and The Avengers, and left Marvel in 2017 to start Latcham Pictures. Latcham will report to Skydance co-chairs Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein, and he will officially take over the new role on December 1.

Projects and Past Work

Gunn and Safran's first film at DC, Superman, reached theaters last year and grossed $618.7 million worldwide with a more comedic tone than Zack Snyder's Man of Steel. However, their second release, Supergirl, suffered a box-office flop, while their horror-infused comic book adaptation Clayface has earned $109 million so far. Although their ten-year plan for DC will not continue, several upcoming projects are already in production and will still feature their work, including Gunn's postproduction on the Superman sequel Man of Tomorrow, along with The People v. Gorilla Grodd and The Batman Part II.

Context

Leadership changes at major film studios frequently happen following corporate mergers and acquisitions, such as the recent combination of Skydance, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Paramount Pictures. Studio heads often bring in trusted executives from their own past networks, which explains the shift from Gunn and Safran to former Marvel veteran Jeremy Latcham. Large Hollywood franchises routinely adjust their creative direction and long-term slates when box-office performance varies across early releases.