Gunn and Safran will keep making DC stories—but Latcham will run the studio

Skydance announced on November 9, 2026, that Jeremy Latcham, a former Marvel Studios executive and producer, will become DC Studios’ president and chief creative officer. The handover is scheduled for December 1, when Gunn and Safran are due to leave their co-CEO and co-chairman jobs after four years. This is an announced transition, not a departure that has already taken effect.⁠17⁠9

Latcham will oversee film, television and animation, with authority over the creative pipeline, production, talent and strategy. He will report to Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein, the co-chairs of Skydance Motion Picture Group. His appointment replaces shared leadership with one incoming creative executive inside the new owner’s reporting structure.⁠15

The distinction matters more than the titles. Gunn and Safran retain work on named productions, including Man of Tomorrow and The Batman: Part II. But continuing to make a film is not the same as controlling the studio that commissions the next one. No comprehensive plan has been announced establishing which parts of their wider universe Latcham will preserve, change or approve.⁠10⁠9

The timing makes this more than a routine succession. According to Variety, Gunn and Safran were named to Ellison’s leadership team when Paramount’s $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery closed in October. Their inclusion suggested continuity under new ownership; the November announcement overturns that expectation. The sequence is clear. The reason for the reversal is not.⁠15

Nor is it established who initiated the exit. Empire’s November 9 account contrasted The Hollywood Reporter’s description of the pair “stepping down” with Variety’s earlier “fired” framing. The full Variety article now describes them as stepping down, although its address preserves the earlier wording. That is an evolution in the reporting, not independent proof of what happened in private negotiations. Neither formulation settles whether Gunn and Safran chose to leave or were pushed out.⁠9⁠15⁠28

Gunn has supplied a more concrete account of how the job felt. In a personal statement reproduced by Gizmodo, he described four trying years in which corporate responsibilities consumed even the short breaks he once took between filmmaking assignments.⁠1

He also said he had taken that time away from himself and his loved ones. His dissatisfaction is evidence of the personal cost of running DC. It does not establish that he controlled the timing or terms of his departure.⁠1

The corporate statements offer reassurance rather than an explanation. Ellison and co-chief executive Ynon Kreiz praised Gunn and Safran for launching a new era and said they expected a smooth, collaborative transition. Goldberg and Greenstein emphasized Latcham’s production record and promised to put fans at the center of the studio’s work. Those are statements of intent, not answers about why management is changing.⁠15

David Zaslav appointed Gunn and Safran in 2022 to give DC a coherent screen universe capable of competing with Marvel. Their approach restored Superman to the franchise’s center while extending its range through Peacemaker, Creature Commandos, Lanterns and Clayface. Peacemaker and Lanterns also expanded DC’s television presence on HBO Max. The ambition was not simply to make individual hits, but to make the characters and productions add up to something larger.⁠15

That is the system Latcham inherits. He joined Marvel Studios in 2004 and rose to senior vice president of production and development, working with Kevin Feige as Marvel established its connected universe. He was an associate producer on Iron Man, a co-producer on Iron Man 2, and an executive producer on The Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Age of Ultron and Spider-Man: Homecoming.⁠15

His experience also extends beyond superhero continuity. After leaving Marvel in 2017, he founded Latcham Pictures, which produced Bad Times at the El Royale and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves and held first-look arrangements with 20th Century Fox, Hasbro and Wonder Project. More recently, his work has included developing a Dungeons & Dragons sequel and an Action Man film through Hasbro Entertainment, and producing Lionsgate’s Naruto adaptation with director Destin Daniel Cretton.⁠15

Latcham called stewardship of DC’s characters “a massive responsibility that I do not take lightly.” His résumé makes the choice understandable: he has worked inside a connected franchise and managed individual productions outside one. It does not tell audiences what his DC will look like.⁠15

For now, the strongest evidence of continuity is specific work. Gunn is writing and directing Man of Tomorrow, with Safran remaining involved. Their joint statement says they are looking forward to telling the next chapter of Clark and Lex’s journey. Gunn also says he is writing another DC project, but it has not been named; that is a continuing assignment, not an announced new slate.⁠15⁠1

The release year for Man of Tomorrow remains inconsistently reported. On November 9, the Los Angeles Times described it as a planned 2027 film, while Ars Technica called it a 2028 release. Variety’s account also places it in summer 2027. The weight of those accounts favors 2027, but the discrepancy has not been definitively resolved and should not be presented as an announced delay.⁠10⁠3⁠15

Gunn and Safran also retain producing commitments on The Batman: Part II, starring Robert Pattinson and described as a 2028 film. The television pipeline includes the planned 2027 series The People v. Gorilla Grodd, with Skyler Gisondo returning as Jimmy Olsen and Jimmy Tatro playing Gorilla Grodd. These commitments carry work forward without guaranteeing that every development project will proceed.⁠10⁠15

Commercial performance supplies an obvious backdrop—but not an established explanation for the leadership decision. Contemporary reports put Superman at approximately $618 million worldwide, Supergirl at $126 million and Clayface at $109 million. Those are markedly different outcomes for a slate meant to strengthen one franchise.⁠15⁠12

Variety puts Supergirl’s production budget at $170 million, above its reported worldwide gross. But ticket sales are not studio revenue, and production budgets exclude other costs. These figures illustrate commercial pressure; they do not, by themselves, establish a film’s final profit or loss.⁠15

Even the budget comparison has limits. Variety and Diario AS give Clayface a $44 million production budget, while The Numbers lists $40 million. That database’s undated snapshot also puts Superman just under $619 million worldwide; it cannot establish an exact announcement-day total. Approximate grosses and a disputed budget are a poor foundation for a precise financial verdict.⁠15⁠12⁠20

Diario AS attributes the management change to commercial results, but that causal account has not been established as Skydance’s stated rationale. The available excerpt of the company’s announcement confirms the transition and return to creative work, not a box-office explanation.⁠12⁠17

December 1 is the next concrete milestone. Beyond it, the unresolved issue is stewardship: how Latcham handles the wider continuity and development titles such as Swamp Thing. No cancellation or comprehensive creative reset has been established. Gunn and Safran’s films have a path forward; the universe around them now awaits its new decision-maker.⁠9⁠1