Warner Bros. Discovery put James Gunn and Peter Safran in charge of DC Studios. Together, Gunn and Safran have shepherded the nascent DCU, which is so far comprised of Creature Commandos, Superman, and Peacemaker Season 2. But, long before they started steering the DC ship, the two executives were good friends. The pair are longtime collaborators, with Safran being Gunn's manager since very early in the director's career.
The duo shares a strong friendship with each other, and in celebration of Safran's birthday, Gunn posted a sweet message about him on Threads. The Superman and Man of Tomorrow helmer detailed their longtime bond and shared pictures of them over the years. The message reads:
"Happy Birthday to my friend and partner, Peter Safran. Kind, intelligent, and one of the funniest guys I know. I can't imagine running DC Studios—and wouldn't—with anyone else. Some select photos over the years:
The earliest shot of the two of us I could find, probably 1998, on the sets of Humanzee and Sparky & Mikaela, on the set of The Belko Experiment, at Mikaela Hoover's birthday long ago, on the set of Guardians Vol. 2, Peter speaking at my wedding rehearsal dinner, in our ugly office bathroom with the DC brain trust, in Svalbard shooting Superman, Peter putting his life on the line and saving Ozu when Ozu jumped a fence and found himself trapped on the edge of a five hundred foot cliff at a rental in Santa Barbara (really), in the Philippines with the Superman gang, celebrating his birthday a couple weeks ago in the UK with our Jenn and Natalia.
Here's to many more birthdays and many more years of big laughs and great movies!"
Though Safran has largely stayed behind the scenes in his role as co-CEO, Gunn constantly credits him for his contributions to the studio and the franchise as a whole. In fact, he's made it clear that, had the DC Studios position not also been offered to Safran, he would not have accepted the job. During a 2023 appearance on Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum, for example, Gunn was asked what his reaction was to being offered to run DC Studios.
The director revealed he was initially hesitant to accept such an undertaking, given that it would have only been him running the studio:
"When it first came up, I was, like... And it didn't come up. Nobody came to me and said, 'Do you want to run DC?' But it came to me very early in the process, 'Would that be something you would be interested in?'—this is very early. And I was like, "Nah, I don't think so." The reasons were because it was me, and it wasn't me and Peter [Safran]. What made it appealing to me eventually was... because they also went to Peter early on, and he was like, same way. But what eventually became appealing to me was doing it with Peter."
Gunn went on to discuss his friendship with Safran, explaining the longtime producer had been his manager since he first arrived in Los Angeles. He also praised their working relationship, stating they never get in each other's way, and that they trust each other's professional opinions:
"So, Peter Safran has been... He's my manager, he's been my manager since I first moved to LA, back when he was the president of Brillstein-Grey [Management]. We're very close friends, we've traveled together, we hang out with our familities together... close friends. And we've gotten [in] maybe one or two arguments over the past 25 years of working together. We work together exceptionally well, we never step on each other's toes. I respect his opinion completely about many things, and he respects my opinion about creative stuff."
Though James Gunn is the face of the company, and his many accomplishments are well known, Safran himself has an impressive track record as a producer. Throughout his time in Hollywood, he has produced a number of hit films and franchises, including The Conjuring, The Conjuring 2, Aquaman and Shazam!.
Hollywood is a though business, and finding lifelong friends within it can be a difficult task. As such, it's endearing to know that Gunn and Safran found each other, and have formed a personal and working relationship that now allows them to run a studio together.
DC Studios' next film, Supergirl, flies into theaters on June 26, 2026.
What did you think about Gunn's comments regarding Peter Safran? What's been your favorite DC Studios project so far? Drop your thoughts in the comments!