Well, this wasn’t on our DC bingo card for 2026! In a genuinely surprising shake-up, James Gunn and Peter Safran are stepping down as the co-heads of DC Studios after four years, with former Marvel Studios executive Jeremy Latcham taking over. And just as the DC Universe seemed to be finding its feet, the people responsible for its ambitious ten-year plan are handing over the keys.
The announcement comes following Skydance’s takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, despite previous indications that Gunn and Safran would remain in charge under the new ownership. The pair will officially leave their executive positions on Tuesday, 1st December 2026, although they aren’t completely saying goodbye to DC.
Instead, Gunn and Safran will return to their creative careers as filmmakers and producers, while Latcham takes the newly titled position of President and Chief Creative Officer of DC Studios.
But the big question is, what does this mean for the DC Universe they’ve spent four years building?
From Marvel to DC: Who is Jeremy Latcham?
Interestingly, Skydance hasn’t gone looking for someone completely unfamiliar with superhero franchises. Quite the opposite.
Jeremy Latcham was one of the early executives at Marvel Studios, joining in 2004 and eventually becoming Senior Vice President of Production and Development. During his time there, he worked on some of the biggest films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including Iron Man, The Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ultron and Spider-Man: Homecoming.
He also worked alongside Gunn on Guardians of the Galaxy, meaning the incoming DC boss already has a creative relationship with the man he’s replacing. Since leaving Marvel, Latcham has produced films including Bad Times at the El Royale and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.
In his new role, Latcham will oversee DC’s entire film, television and animation slate, including development, production, talent and creative strategy.
There’s also a potentially significant change behind the scenes. While Gunn and Safran previously reported directly to the company’s CEO, Latcham will report to Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein, the co-chairs of Skydance Motion Picture Group.
It’s an interesting shift in how DC Studios fits into the wider company, particularly given the creative independence Gunn and Safran were originally given.
James Gunn admits running DC has been ‘trying’
Following the announcement, Gunn posted a lengthy and rather revealing statement about his four years running DC Studios.
While clearly proud of what he and Safran achieved, he was also remarkably candid about the challenges of balancing his filmmaking career with the responsibilities of running a major Hollywood studio.
“I dislike the at-times corporate nature of the job (thanks to Peter for taking the brunt of that).”
Gunn also spoke about the personal toll of the demanding role, including the time it had taken away from his family and the difficulties of dividing his attention between multiple projects.
“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.”
It certainly puts an interesting perspective on the departure. Was this a decision Gunn and Safran wanted, or one driven by Skydance’s new management? The full circumstances remain unclear, although Gunn’s comments suggest that leaving the executive side of the business isn’t entirely unwelcome.
What happens to Gunn and Safran’s DC Universe?
This is where things get particularly interesting.
When Gunn and Safran took control in 2022, DC was emerging from a rather chaotic period of competing creative directions, abandoned plans and the fallout from the previous Zack Snyder-led universe.
Their solution was a coordinated, long-term approach to storytelling across film, television and animation, beginning with Chapter One, titled Gods and Monsters.
The results have admittedly been mixed.
Gunn’s Superman reboot successfully relaunched the Man of Steel in 2025, earning more than $618 million worldwide. However, Supergirl struggled commercially, taking approximately $126 million globally against a considerably larger production budget.
More recently, the lower-budget Clayface has proved a success, earning around $109 million worldwide and demonstrating that DC doesn’t necessarily need every project to be an enormous superhero blockbuster.
On television, the studio has delivered projects including ‘Creature Commandos’, the second season of ‘Peacemaker’, and ‘Lanterns’, alongside building an increasingly ambitious slate of projects in development.
And that’s arguably what makes today’s announcement so surprising. Gunn and Safran’s DCU is still relatively young, with several major pieces of their original plan yet to reach audiences.
Crucially, though, Gunn’s departure as studio boss does not mean the DC Universe is being rebooted again. At least, there’s currently no announcement suggesting that is the plan.
Gunn remains involved with the upcoming Superman sequel Man of Tomorrow, which is in post-production and scheduled for July 2027. He and Safran are also continuing their involvement in other DC productions, including The Batman: Part II and the upcoming television series ‘The People v. Gorilla Grodd’.
Gunn has even revealed that he has been engaged to write another, currently undisclosed DC project.
And in his farewell statement, he offered some reassurance for fans concerned about the fate of his characters:
“And, of course, the characters we set up will live on.”
Of course, that doesn’t necessarily guarantee the survival of every project from the original ten-year plan. With Latcham taking control of development and creative strategy, decisions about which films and television series move forward will ultimately sit with the new leadership.
A new direction, or a continuation of the existing plan?
For all the uncertainty, Latcham’s appointment could potentially offer more continuity than a completely fresh creative team would have brought.
His Marvel background, experience overseeing interconnected superhero franchises and existing relationship with Gunn suggest he’s well placed to understand what the outgoing leadership was trying to achieve.
However, there’s a difference between understanding someone’s creative vision and wanting to follow it.
Perhaps the most telling aspect of the announcement is its timing. Gunn and Safran had only recently outlined their long-term DC plans to Skydance’s new leadership, with previous reports suggesting they had received a positive response.
Now, just weeks later, they’re being replaced.
It would be premature to declare another DC reset, just as it would be naive to assume that absolutely nothing will change. The creative direction of one of Hollywood’s biggest superhero franchises is now in someone else’s hands.
And after years of DC trying to establish a consistent direction, fans could probably be forgiven for feeling a little nervous about another change at the top.
James Gunn and Peter Safran leave their executive positions at DC Studios on Tuesday, 1st December 2026, when Jeremy Latcham takes over as President and Chief Creative Officer. Gunn’s Man of Tomorrow remains scheduled for July 2027.
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