James Gunn and Peter Safran Named Heads of DC Studios

James Gunn and Peter Safran Named Heads of DC Studios

Warner Bros. Discovery has been on the hunt for someone to head up the DC universe with their long-term plans in place. Today, they announced that James Gunn and Peter Safran will be Co-Chairmen and CEOs of DC Studios.

With the recent departure of Walter Hamada, the future of DC was soon to be revealed and now they will have the creative minds of Gunn and Safran overseeing the future studio productions and will be responsible for shaping the ten-year plan previously mentioned by WB Discovery.

Fans have been in a frenzy as of late, rightfully so with the recent hits that the DC universe has taken since August when they pulled the plug on the Batgirl film. From there, WB Discovery began to completely revamp the company’s projects and the complete restructuring of DC which spawned the ambitious ten-year plan and had WB Discovery CEO looking for a Kevin Feige-like figurehead to oversee DC.

Gunn and Safran will report directly to David Zaslav, CEO of WB Discovery, and will also be working closely with Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy, Co-Chairpersons and CEOs of Warner Bros. Film Group.

Safran also produced Aquaman and Shazam!, two of the DC properties that showed promise in the unstable and unreliable slate of films released. He also is set to produce the sequels to these films in Shazam! Fury of the Gods and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, plus the film that did not see Batgirl‘s fate in Blue Beetle. He clearly has his hand on the pulse of the strong properties in the DC universe and the properties that will play a role in the future of the DCEU.

Commenting on the announcement, Zaslav said

“DC has among the most entertaining, powerful, and iconic characters in the world and I am thrilled to have the singular and complementary talents of James and Peter joining our world-class team and overseeing the creative direction of the storied DC Universe. Their decades of experience in filmmaking, close ties to the creative community, and proven track record thrilling superhero fans around the globe make them uniquely qualified to develop a long-term strategy across film, TV, and animation, and take this iconic franchise to the next level of creative storytelling.”

Gunn and Safran also added:

“We’re honored to be the stewards of these DC characters we’ve loved since we were children. We look forward to collaborating with the most talented writers, directors, and actors in the world to create an integrated, multilayered universe that still allows for the individual expression of the artists involved. Our commitment to Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Harley Quinn, and the rest of the DC stable of characters is only equaled by our commitment to the wonder of human possibility these characters represent.

We’re excited to invigorate the theatrical experience around the world as we tell some of the biggest, most beautiful, and grandest stories ever told. We’re especially enthusiastic about doing all of this with Mike, Pam, Casey, Channing, and the whole Warner Bros. Discovery team, and are grateful to David Zaslav, whose bold vision for the future of the franchise we share and allows for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Most of all, we can’t wait to bring you all into the story of the DCU.”

Finally, De Luca and Abdy commented:

“We could not be more excited to have James Gunn and Peter Safran join the team and assume the leadership of the DC Universe. James is a brilliant filmmaker and storyteller and Peter is a tremendously successful and prolific producer and to have them both committing to work together to forge this new era for DC is a literal dream come true. We all share a very similar sensibility and passion for this universe and the stars couldn’t have aligned any better. We can’t wait to get started, dig in, and collaborate with these unmatched creative minds.”

We said it before, Gunn put Guardians of the Galaxy on the map and is set to depart from his time with the Guardians after Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. His soft reboot of Suicide Squad, titled The Suicide Squad was a huge success both financially and with fans and critics which led to another hit original property on HBO Max when John Cena‘s Peacemaker got his own series titled after his character which got rave reviews and further bolstered Gunn’s credibility with DC properties.

The DC universe now finds itself in creatively cohesive and capable hands that may put the DC cinematic universe in its most promising state than we’ve ever seen. Safran’s addition further stabilized the ship as it moves forward as Safran is the executive producer of Peacemaker and produced The Suicide Squad which shows the capabilities of the two working together.

Source: Deadline