- 11 minutes ago
The DC Universe is shaking — and we're breaking down everything you need to know! Join us as we explore the shocking story behind James Gunn's firing and rehiring, the fallout within the DCU, and what it all means for the future of DC films. From behind-the-scenes drama to major studio decisions, we're covering all the jaw-dropping details of one of Hollywood's wildest controversies!
Transcript
00:00Welcome to WatchMojo. Today we'll look at the details and rumors surrounding the firing
00:05of DC co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran, and what the future of DC could look like.
00:12Was James Gunn an overcorrection in response to the Snyderverse? Is the DCU the first big
00:17scale casualty of the Skydance merger? Can we survive a new Superman casting rumor mill?
00:23Well, just when we thought that DC had finally figured things out, we had the proverbial
00:28red cape pulled right out from under us.
00:39Superman was back on track with a surprise successful theater run. DC TV was riding high with both
00:46animated and live action hits like Creature Commandos, Peacemaker, and Lanterns. Hell, even
00:53their horror experiment Clayface was successful enough to pay for itself. I mean, sure, Super
00:58Girl wasn't to everyone's taste, but it was a small part of a bigger plan. A couple
01:03of months ago, when the Skydance deal closed, DC fans were the first to be put at ease by
01:08David Ellison, with the news that James Gunn and Peter Safran would stay on to continue their
01:14Gods and Monsters project for DC. Announcements for new movies and shows kept pouring in, casting
01:20rumors swelled, and even a fortuitous leak for The Batman Part 2, thank you Heidi Klum, gave
01:26us hope for the future. I knew there was something about this place, and my gut is never wrong.
01:33Then the headline hit us like a f***ing batarang. A major shakeup is coming to one of the biggest
01:38comic book studios in Hollywood. After four years, James Gunn and Peter Safran are stepping
01:43down from their roles as CEOs and chairman at DC Comics. Well, s***. Anyway, here's what we
01:50know so far. Why, you ask? I do ask why. On November 9th, Skydance confirmed that Gunn and
01:57Safran would be stepping down after four years. Four years of running DC Studios, and a former
02:03Marvel executive called Jeremy Latcham would take over as president and chief creative officer
02:09starting December 1st. The official announcement was, you know, diplomatic. Skydance CEO David
02:17Ellison even praised James and Peter for their passion and care during a statement to Variety.
02:23However, several reports claim that the decision was largely driven by concerns about audience
02:28enthusiasm and interest, and more specifically, worries about the financial performance of the
02:34initial run of DC movies. Now, hear me out. Superman made approximately $618 million worldwide
02:41on a $225 million budget. Supergirl struggled with just $126 million against the reported $170
02:49million budget. Even Clayface, with around $109 million in earnings on a $40 million budget,
02:55is reportedly facing profitability challenges. And while they were mostly praised by fans, the lukewarm
03:01reaction by critics and the general public made for an understandable oh s**t moment at the company.
03:08And with Skydance now in control of Warner Bros. Discovery, apparently it was time for a change.
03:14Now, there's a little more to David Ellison's takeover than just putting on a new executive in charge of DC.
03:21Skydance's CEO has been pushing an ambitious strategy built around expanding production, prioritizing
03:27theatrical releases and making better use of the company's enormous collection of franchises.
03:34Which now includes not just DC, but Star Trek, Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, Mission Impossible,
03:41the Monsterverse, even Spongebob Squarepants, among many, many others.
03:52A strategy that many feel is too structured and commercial for Gunn's original plans,
03:58which involved a deeper exploration of DC Comics' more seedy, dark and weird character underbelly,
04:06which would eventually lead to the tentpole DC characters, i.e. the Justice League, Superman,
04:12Batman, and Wonder Woman. In his initial statement after getting fired, Gunn admitted that running DC
04:18Studios was considerably more difficult than expected, particularly balancing corporate
04:23responsibilities with filmmaking. He obviously thanked Safran for handling much of the executive
04:29workload and expressed excitement about returning to the creative side of things. And, as with most
04:36industry-related news cycles as of late, Ellison's relationship with the Trump administration has
04:41also attracted scrutiny in regards to the gun decision. It's been very explicit. There have been several
04:48letters that have been filed with the FCC explicitly promising that they will monitor the content,
04:57particularly at CBS News. Now, all this prompted questions about the company's editorial standing.
05:02Ellison has defended the company's editorial independence, but the controversy has added another
05:07layer of attention to Skydance's ownership of DC's parent company, Warner Bros.
05:14Enter Jeremy Latcham. Latcham joined Marvel Studios in 2004, eventually becoming Senior Vice
05:20President of Production and Development. His credits include Iron Man, The Avengers, Age of Ultron,
05:26Spider-Man Homecoming, and even a James Gunn collaboration with Guardians of the Galaxy.
05:31So there's a bit of story there between the two of them.
05:34In 2017, he'd move on from Marvel to produce movies like Bad Times at the El Royale and Dungeons
05:40and Dragons Honor Among Thieves. Now, to say that Jeremy Latcham brings a unique perspective to the new,
05:48newer DC universe is an understatement. One of the internet's now favorite Latcham anecdotes is that,
05:55while working on the early Marvel movies, he'd sometimes ask himself, would my grandma like that?
06:01And if that's not focusing on the broader side of the audience, I don't know what is.
06:07And that became like a guiding light of like, as we were developing the movies,
06:11like I just had this like sense of like, I don't know if my grandma would like that. And that
06:14became
06:14the stand in for like, is this going to work for like regular people that are outside of the
06:20bubble of Hollywood?
06:21However, many consider that Latcham's biggest challenge ahead is finding a sustainable identity
06:26for DC. I mean, he has the Marvel experience, but so far DC's ace in the hole has been not
06:34to
06:34replicate what Marvel is doing. And while his grandma first approach to superhero filmmaking
06:39will most definitely do away with the R-rated, foul-mouthed, edgy, sexy body horror formula that
06:46Gunn was introducing, the building blocks of the new DC castle are still very much just clay.
06:52Okay, now corporate BS aside, what does this mean for DC's film and TV projects?
06:59Well, thankfully not everything is getting thrown into the Phantom Zone.
07:14Gunn's next Superman movie, Man of Tomorrow, is still moving forward. With the movie now in
07:19post-production and the success of the first one, I don't think Skydance is ready to pull a Coyote
07:25versus Acme. As of recording this, it's still scheduled for July 9th, 2027. And with Gunn still in the
07:32director's chair, it's going to be an interesting press tour to say the least.
07:37Maybe that's the real punk rock.
07:39On the Gotham side of things, The Batman Part 2 also remains in production. Even before the Gunn
07:46headline, the sequel to one of 2022's biggest releases has been no stranger to drama. With delays,
07:52leaks, casting rumors, and Scarlett Johansson's existential crisis, The Batman 2 is still geared to
07:59return in February 18th, 2028. Funny story, Gunn's DCU lasted less than the production time for the
08:07Batman sequel. So, you know, do whatever you want with that. And on television, The People vs. Gorilla
08:12Grodd, led by Skylar Gisandos, Jimmy Olsen from Superman, has completed filming and is expected in
08:182027. While Creature Commandos is also expected to continue with a second season.
08:24Look, at this point, anything else is a rumor. So, with no cancellation or renewal announcements made
08:29for Lanterns or Peacemaker, and no solid news on properties like The Authority, Sergeant Rock,
08:35Booster Gold, Swamp Thing, The Brave and the Bold, among many, many others, it's safe to assume that the
08:41future is as clear as the questions face. Those things you're afraid of will never happen here.
08:47I won't let them. Now, the prevailing theory is that Skydance will prioritize DC's biggest characters,
08:55leading up to an eventual Justice League movie. A move that sounds... traumatically familiar.
09:11You're late, you f***ing d***heads.
09:15Look, we've been here before. Hell, we'll probably be here again in a few years. But as DC enters another
09:22transitional period and potentially abandons another cinematic universe that has had barely
09:27enough time to establish itself, returning to characters that have been at the center of some
09:32of the most toxic discussions audiences have ever been a part of is... an interesting approach,
09:39both from a creative and corporate standpoint, especially considering the devaluation of the
09:45characters in the last couple of years. But hey, hopefully this new DC universe is exactly what
09:51Grandma wants to see. Just wanted to call and say congratulations on that front page. Boy, that is
09:59something. What do you think? Should DC just quit on the James Gunn universe? Let us know in the comments,
10:05comments, and we'll talk to you later.