James Gunn and Peter Safran Step Down at DC Studios as Marvel Veteran Jeremy Latcham Takes Over

James Gunn and Peter Safran are stepping down as co-chief executives of DC Studios after four years in charge. Skydance announced the change on Monday, Nov. 9. Jeremy Latcham, a former Marvel Studios executive, will take over as president and chief creative officer on Dec. 1, 2026.

The Hollywood Reporter and Variety reported the shake-up first on Monday. The story shot to the top of the trending list on X in the United States within hours.

The announcement

Skydance chief executive David Ellison and co-chief executive Ynon Kreiz thanked the pair in a statement reported by The Hollywood Reporter. "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," they said.

Gunn confirmed the news in a statement on Threads on Nov. 9. He called the job a dream come true, but also trying. He said he disliked the corporate side of the work and found it hard to split his time between projects he cared about and the duties of a studio head. "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," he wrote.

In a joint statement reported by Variety, Gunn and Safran said they were proud of the team that rebuilt DC, and called Latcham a creative partner from their Marvel days.

Four years in charge

Gunn and Safran were confirmed as the heads of DC Studios on Oct. 25, 2022, after a run of box office failures in the previous era, including the 2017 film Justice League. They relaunched the screen universe in 2024 with the animated series Creature Commandos. Their first film, Superman, directed by Gunn and starring David Corenswet, took in more than $600 million worldwide in 2025.

The record since then is mixed. Supergirl, led by Milly Alcock, drew mixed reviews and flopped in June. Clayface, a darker film set in the Batman world, opened on Oct. 23 and has passed $100 million worldwide on a reported budget of $44 million. On television, The Penguin, Lanterns and Peacemaker were well received.

The change comes weeks after the Warner Bros. and Paramount Skydance merger was completed on Oct. 6, 2026. In October, Gunn said the new owners wanted the pair to carry on with their plans, so Monday's announcement is a surprise.

Who is Jeremy Latcham

Latcham was one of the earliest executives at Marvel Studios. He worked on Iron Man and Iron Man 2, then served as an executive producer on The Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ultron and Guardians of the Galaxy. He left Marvel in 2017 and founded Latcham Pictures, which produced Bad Times at the El Royale and Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. At DC he will report to Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein, co-chairs of the Skydance Motion Picture Group.

What happens to the slate

Gunn is not done at DC. His Superman sequel, Man of Tomorrow, is in post-production and is set for release in July 2027. The spin-off series The People v. Gorilla Grodd has already been filmed, and Gunn and Safran stay on as producers on The Batman: Part II. Gunn said on Nov. 9 that he is writing another DC project. What Latcham does with announced projects such as The Brave and the Bold and a new Wonder Woman film is not yet clear.