A major shakeup in the studio.
On Tuesday, November 10 (Manila time), it was announced that filmmaker James Gunn and Peter Safran, whi served as heads of DC Studios, are departing the production company.
The said move happened weeks after the merger between DC Studios’ parent Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Skydance, which formed the new Skydance Corporation, was completed.
The Hollywood Reporter noted in its article that their departure was also in the aftermath of a visit from Skydance CEOs David Ellison and Ynon Kreiz to their office in California.
Moroever, it only happened weeks after the release of the horror movie Clayface, a horror movie last October and the development of more movies in the first phase of the DC Cinematic Universe. Among which is the Superman movie Man of Tomorrow, which will come out in 2027.
In a statement posted on Instagram, James Gunn looked back at his time with the company. “Oh, boy. What a four years,” he wrote. “Thanks to all of you who have supported me and Peter in our time as the heads of DC Studios.”
“When I was a kid growing up in Manchester, Missouri, I used to write and draw my own comics with a mix of DC Comics characters and my own characters. Having full access to these characters to do whatever we wanted has been a dream come true. I didn’t know if I wanted this job when it was offered to me, but I just couldn’t pass up the unique opportunity. I’m glad I took the job,” he continued.
According to him, there were multiple highs during his stay in the company, such as the release of the Superman movie with David Corenswet in 2025 and Clayface, the creation of Peacemaker, reading the scripts to The People Vs, and the entire process of Man of Tomorrow, “which thus far has been the best filmmaking experience of my life, and numerous other moments,” the filmmaker stated.
“The highest of the highs have been all the talented and wonderful people I’ve worked with and grown to love: the DC Studios crew, our talented collaborators, our casts and crews, and the boisterous and hilarious fans.”
Gunn also said that the best part of all has been working with Peter Safran, whom he described as the “smartest and most competent person” he has known.
“You’ve been the best partner a person could ask for, and, more so, a truly good friend,” James told Peter.
However, Gunn admitted that his stint has been a “trying” time for him.
“I dislike the at-times corporate nature of the job (thanks to Peter for taking the brunt of that). I’m always a very hard worker, but as a filmmaker I would at least get to take short breaks to unwind, and I’ve stolen even that time from both myself and my loved ones over the past four years,” he told.
James also noted that him having ADHD and the hyperfocus that come with it have led him to have made it difficult for him to divide his time between projects he is incredibly passionate about and the ones he is “not so much,” on top of the things he needed to do as a studio head.
“So, yes, I will miss the people around me, and I will miss being the co-caretaker of these great characters, but I’m also incredibly relieved and excited to get back to pure filmmaking,” furthered the writer, director, and producer.
He, however, cleared that Peter and him still have Man of Tomorrow and they have just been engaged on another DC project which he is still writing.
“Thank you so very, very much for embracing the characters and stories we’ve put on screen,” he concluded the statement.
