A mere 33 days after Skydance took control of DC Studios as part of the Paramount/Warner Bros. Discovery merger, James Gunn and Peter Safran have been ousted from the studio. Taking their place is former Marvel Studios executive Jeremy Latcham.
The news came as a shock, as Skydance CEOs David Ellison and Ynon Kreiz had widely praised Gunn and Safran's leadership. A buoyant Gunn was clearly excited about the future at the Clayface premiere, while Safran "accidentally" dropped Mister Miracle and Dynamic Duo casting news.
According to The Wrap, Ellison was plotting Gunn and Safran's exit for over a month and before the merger deal closed. He'd been in talks with new DC Studios CEO Jeremy Latcham for some time, and one insider points to comments Ellison made during Skydance's employee town hall: "We are not here to preserve the status quo. We are here to build for what comes next."
Clayface was a factor in the end of Gunn's DCU, as its box office haul, while "respectable," is "not what Skydance is looking to get out of the franchise."
As one producer put it, "James seemed to be focused on the corniness of 1950s DC. He had to adjust from the abject failure of the Zack Snyder era, but I don't think people wanted cornball."
According to insiders, it's not currently clear how the DCU will change on Latcham's watch from a creative standpoint. Earlier today, it was said that a full-blown reboot is planned, though it still seems likely that some elements will be carried over, including David Corenswet's Superman. Still, two major changes are planned.
"The first is that DC Studios will have a far quieter presence on social media compared to Gunn, who was known for being a very vocal online presence and carried that over to his time as co-CEO," the trade writes, adding, "What insiders also expect Latcham to do – by mandate of Ellison – is to get the Justice League back on the big screen as soon as possible."
"No more Polka Dot Men or even modestly known heroes like Supergirl," the piece notes. "Latcham will be expected to get films for Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash and other heavyweights going in the years ahead."
This is what many fans had hoped for when DC Studios was first launched. While Gunn prioritised Superman, he was also focused on reestablishing his DCEU projects as part of the DCU and highlighting obscure characters such as the Creature Commandos, Clayface, and Rick Flag Sr. It's unclear why he appeared to have little interest in Batman and Wonder Woman.
Talking of Diana Prince, Knight Edge Media is reporting, "We also heard over the summer that top DC screenwriter Ana Nogueira may have been removed from her Wonder Woman script and that someone else would be brought in to polish it."
Putting the spotlight on the Justice League and characters like Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and The Flash should be welcomed by DC fans. Batman, meanwhile, will surely be in the mix somewhere beyond Matt Reeves' Elseworlds sequel, The Batman Part II.