As we're sure the majority of you will be aware by now, James Gunn and Peter Safran are out as co-CEOs of DC Studios, with Skydance's David Ellison enlisting former Marvel Studios executive Jeremy Latcham to take over.
All signs point to the pair being ousted, which certainly came as a surprise after reports that Ellison had initially decided to keep them on shortly after the Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition was made official.
Gunn and Safran will stay "in the fold creatively" for the time being, and the former confirmed that the project he has been working on since he wrapped on Man of Tomorrow is still moving forward.
"We have Man of Tomorrow out this summer," he wrote in his statement. "And we’ve just been engaged on another DC project which I’m writing, and we’ll see where it goes after that. And, of course, the characters we set up will live on."
Over the weekend, an unsubstantiated rumor that this mysterious movie was a third Superman film circulated online, and while it now appears that there was some truth to this, the project has reportedly "morphed" into something else: a Justice League movie!
From Jeff Sneider's newsletter:
"In his farewell statement on Monday, Gunn said he has been engaged to write one last DC movie before he officially exits. I understand that the project started as a third Superman movie but has since morphed into a Justice League movie (possibly a two-parter) that could introduce Batman, whom Gunn had originally hoped to introduce in The Brave and the Bold.
While Gunn may have had a distinct vision for the DCU’s Batman, it doesn’t seem like he’ll be able to bring it to fruition, unless, of course, he winds up directing the movie he’s writing. Then he’d presumably have a say in casting matters."
It remains to be seen if Gunn will also direct, but either way, this is expected to be the last project he delivers for DC Studios.
We also have to wait and see whether Ellison and Latcham make any major creative changes when it comes to the universe Gunn and Safran established. If Man of Tomorrow is indeed expected to serve as a soft launch for this Justice League film, we assume there are no current plans in place to reboot the entire franchise (again).
"Looking ahead, it’s fair to wonder whether Man of Tomorrow should now be considered a lame duck," adds Sneider. "Will Ellison (and Latcham) wait for that movie to come out and then blow up the DCU? After all, HBO still hasn’t renewed Lanterns for Season 2, which is highly suspicious. Personally, I don’t think Ellison will blow up the DCU. I think he likes his (Jewish) Superman, David Corenswet, who also stars in Paramount’s Mr. Irrelevant, which was a Skydance production."
It's certainly an intriquing and unique situation (who could have predicted that the SnyderVerse would last longer than Gunn's DCU?), but based on the feedback we've seen, it might be fair to say the majority of DC fans are on board with the shakeup.