Report: James Gunn’s DC Studios Exit Stemmed From Tensions With Skydance Executives

Just over four years after James Gunn and Peter Safran took over as co-CEOs of DC Studios, their leadership has come to an end. Fans of Gunn’s Marvel films, including Guardians of the Galaxy, had looked forward to seeing what the pair would bring to DC adaptations across film, animation, and television.

Gunn and Safran’s full vision may never be realized. Reporting by The Hollywood Reporter offers a possible explanation for their departure.

Why did James Gunn and Peter Safran leave DC Studios?

After Skydance acquired Warner Bros. Discovery, Warner Bros. underwent a restructuring and layoffs. Studio heads Pam Abdy and Mike De Luca were also let go. Gunn and Safran were initially believed to have kept their jobs.

That changed on Nov. 6, when Skydance co-CEOs David Ellison and Ynon Kreiz visited Gunn and Safran’s offices on the Warner Bros. lot. According to The Hollywood Reporter’s sources, the pair were told that Skydance’s co-CEOs had changed their minds, despite earlier assurances that their roles would be safe under the new merger.

Warner Bros. Discovery said Gunn and Safran would “ensure a smooth, collaborative transition” to new DC Studios leadership under Jeremy Latcham, previously a key member of Marvel Studios’ executive team.

An insider told The Hollywood Reporter that Latcham’s move into the role had been in the works since early fall, when Skydance Motion Picture Group co-chairs Josh Greenstein and Dana Goldberg approached him. Other sources described “several points of tension” between Greenstein and Goldberg and Gunn and Safran.

Before the merger, Gunn and Safran reported directly to Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav and maintained tight control over DC’s release plans for movies, television, and animation. Greenstein and Goldberg reportedly wanted all motion pictures consolidated under their leadership. Gunn and Safran were also reportedly “too slow” to share plans, details, or footage with Skydance’s leaders.

The Hollywood Reporter said Skydance’s new leadership was dissatisfied with DC Studios’ results under Gunn and Safran. Their most successful movie, Superman, grossed $618 million but “did not net out,” according to the publication, and failed to make the pop culture impact executives expected.

Clayface grossed more than $100 million on a relatively small budget. Supergirl, meanwhile, was “a disaster in the eyes of the new regime,” The Hollywood Reporter’s sources said. The reported tensions and box-office results offer possible reasons for Gunn and Safran’s departure.

Source: Polygon