Last month, a Puck report revealed that Zach Cregger (“Weapons”) was shopping his DC movie, Henchman, to Skydance/Paramount—even though James Gunn still had the authority to greenlight DC projects. This all happened at a time when many believed Paramount would win the bidding war to acquire Warner Bros.
Of course, Cregger’s move was seen by many as a backhanded slap in the face to Warner Bros., Gunn, and Peter Safran, who currently control who directs DC movies—a choice they make after developing scripts to their liking.
There’s been speculation, and fan concern, that a new Ellison-owned Warner Bros. might want a different creative direction or view Gunn’s DCU slate as risky—especially given performance concerns—but as it stands, Warner Bros. opted for the Netflix bid.
Fast forward to January 2026, and Gunn seems to be all smiles. On Variety’s Awards Circuit podcast, he said:
“Do I have hopes? No, I really don’t because everything’s unknown,” he said. “I think it’s all really exciting, frankly. So I hope and pray for the best. And I’ve been through these sorts of changes so many times that I’ll always be careful what you wish for because you don’t really know until you know. And I hope it goes well, and I think it’s exciting, you know, every direction has really exciting things for DC, so I’m excited about where it’s going to go.”
Naturally, the Gunn and Safran period at DC isn’t happening in isolation. It’s emerging within a Hollywood landscape that’s always shifting—streaming platforms circling legacy studios, corporate restructurings, and speculation dominating the news cycle.
Gunn seems measured but hopeful in his response, and given the way Paramount went behind his back by meeting with Cregger, he’s probably more comfortable with Netflix taking over Warner Bros.
As for Cregger and “Henchman,” it’s worth asking: did his meeting with Paramount jeopardize the project?