Skydance replaces James Gunn and Peter Safran at DC Studios with Jeremy Latcham

Leadership change

Skydance announced on Monday, 9 November 2026, that James Gunn and Peter Safran are stepping down from DC Studios after four years in charge. Their first film at the studio, 'Superman', reached cinemas only last year, which makes the exit abrupt. The shift follows the completed merger of Paramount and Warner Bros., which produced the combined Skydance company led by chief executive David Ellison. Ellison chose Jeremy Latcham, a veteran of Marvel Studios, to succeed the pair as president and chief creative officer. The exit is a surprise because the two men had been named to Ellison's business leadership team only last month.

Latcham's background and role

Latcham takes over on 1 December and will oversee all cinema, television and animation releases from DC. He will report to Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein, the co-chairs of Skydance Motion Picture Group. Latcham worked at Marvel from 2004 to 2017 and played a crucial role in the production of 'Iron Man', 'The Avengers' (2012) and 'Guardians of the Galaxy' (2015), the last of which was directed by Gunn. Skydance's leadership praised the transformation work the two men had done and said it expected a smooth handover to Latcham. Latcham is now in a position comparable to that of Kevin Feige at Marvel Studios, according to the reporting on the appointment.

Gunn and Safran's next steps

Gunn and Safran will return to creative work full time from 1 December, and they will remain involved as producers on several cinema and television projects. The pair reportedly had a decade's worth of plans in the works. Gunn posted on Instagram that he and Safran had just started work on another DC project that he is writing. In the same post he said the job had at times been trying and that he disliked its corporate side, crediting Safran with taking much of that burden. 'Man of Tomorrow', the sequel to 'Superman', is slated for release in summer 2027, and Gunn is currently in post-production on the film.

Statement and reaction

In a joint statement, the two men said that four years ago they set out to unite DC under one creative vision. They credited that work with restoring Superman to the heart of DC and with opening new doors in film and television through Peacemaker, Creature Commandos, Lanterns and Clayface. They thanked the actors, crews and executives they had worked with and praised Latcham, citing their shared creative history with him going back to Marvel. Gunn separately thanked his followers on social media for their support over the four years and called working with DC Comics characters a dream come true. Skydance said on its social channels that it looked forward to working with Latcham to build the next generation of DC stories and to renew its commitment to fans.