Since the ousting of James Gunn and Peter Safran from DC Studios earlier this week, it's become clear that Hollywood has judged their time in charge of the DCU as a failure.
Just last night, Variety became the latest trade to share a scathing analysis of Gunn's three-year stint as DC Studios co-CEO. In the piece, it was explained that they spent too much money—and lost too much—on projects that didn't strike a chord with audiences.
Even Clayface is considered a "Verified Hot" flop, with its modest $109 million box office haul deemed a disappointment. Despite a $44 million production budget, it seems DC Studios spent big on marketing, as the movie likely won't break even until downstream revenues are factored in. Spoiler alert: studios don't release movies to barely break even thanks to Digital and Blu-ray sales months after a theatrical release.
Insiders are questioning Gunn's penchant for focusing on lesser-known characters, and it's now down to Jeremy Latcham to right the ship and fix a brand that's been on the ropes for upwards of a decade.
However, the time he's given to set things right may be limited.
According to a wild new rumour shared by the popular @entylawyer X account, "The comic studio heads were fired. They didn't quit. Their boss wants to sell off the entire comic book universe to help get rid of some of that $100B debt."
Skydance emerged from the $81 billion Warner deal with $87 billion in debt and roughly $10 billion in cash. The company intends to cut costs by eliminating layers of management, combining operations and reducing technology expenses, with the goal of bringing that debt down to a more manageable level by 2029.
Skydance already has a long list of hugely popular franchises, and at this point, sinking more money into the DC brand may simply no longer be worth it. All Gunn and Safran did was lose money over three years, and selling DC for several billion dollars would wipe out a great deal of debt and is likely more than Skydance stands to gain from DC in the coming years.
Who would buy the company? Disney (Marvel vs. DC, anyone?), Netflix, and Universal are among the most likely possibilities, but we'll just have to wait and see whether this rumour leads to anything beyond social media chatter.
Do you think Skydance should sell DC? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.