I did not see this one coming. Nobody did.
James Gunn and Peter Safran have been politely asked to step down as co-presidents of DC Studios, effective as part of a surprise shakeup under David Ellison's Paramount. Their replacement? Jeremy Latcham, a Marvel veteran who will now serve as DC's president and chief creative officer.
Let that sink in for a second. Just a month ago, when Paramount's $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery closed in October, Gunn and Safran were named part of Ellison's leadership team. Their jobs were supposed to be safe. Now, four years into their DC run, they're "returning full time to creative work.”
Listen, "Superman" did $618M worldwide last summer, which was fine, a relative success, not a phenomenon. Then came July's "Supergirl," which was a flat-out disaster, grossing $126M on a $170M budget. This fall, "Clayface" has so far pulled in $109M on a lean $44M budget. On TV, they had "Peacemaker," "Creature Commandos" and "Lanterns."
Mixed results. That's the polite way to say it.
Gunn isn't going anywhere, for now. He's still writing and directing "Superman: Man of Tomorrow" for next summer, which was shot earlier this year. Today’s news of Gunn and Safran’s firings — don’t kid yourselves, it was firings — might have the effect of deflating the buzz on that one.
In a statement, Ellison and co-CEO Ynon Kreiz thanked the duo for leading DC "through a period of real transformation." That’s the definition of corporate-speak, and we can all read between the lines — they don’t want Gunn and Safran to head DC content anymore.
Now, Latcham. He joined Marvel in 2004, worked side-by-side with Kevin Feige to build the MCU, and has credits on "Iron Man," "The Avengers," "Guardians of the Galaxy" and "Spider-Man: Homecoming." After leaving Marvel in 2017, he produced "Bad Times at the El Royale" and "Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.”
What does all this mean for the "DCU" Gunn and Safran mapped out? That’s the big question. Nobody knows. Is the slate safe? Does Latcham keep their interconnected plan, or does Ellison want a clean slate after "Supergirl" bombed? I’m leaning towards the latter.
"Man of Tomorrow" just became a make-or-break test for the DCU. If that one stumbles, the Gunn era will be cooked.
Wild day in Hollywood. More to come.
James Gunn and Peter Safran have been politely asked to step down as co-presidents of DC Studios, effective as part of a surprise shakeup under David Ellison's Paramount.