UPDATE #2: The Hollywood Reporter has shared its own insights, revealing that "several insiders" expect James Gunn and Peter Safran to remain in charge of DC Studios "for the foreseeable future."
Per the trade, "Multiple sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that the duo met with Ellison in person Thursday and that the meeting was positive. The pair were asked to stay and 'keep doing what you’re doing,' per one source."
However, it's unclear who Gunn and Safran will report to, meaning they can likely expect big changes in how DC Studios operates. There's also no guarantee that Skydance will keep them; as the report notes, "De Luca and Abdy 'were led to believe they would still be here post-merger.' Adds this person: 'They met with David months ago and felt secure. Clearly a lot has changed since then.'"
UPDATE: Deadline reports that James Gunn and Peter Safran "had a recent meeting with new Skydance co-CEO David Ellison about their future, and it went well." As a result, both men are expected to remain in charge of DC Studios for the foreseeable future.
Whether that changes is anyone's guess, but for now, the newly formed Skydance will seemingly allow Gunn and Safran to continue their vision for the DCU without enlisting a new team to reboot the franchise. Still, David Ellison may be a little more hands-on than David Zaslav.
Late last night, the news broke that Paramount Pictures is expected to remove Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy as co-chairs of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group.
They've had mixed fortunes while leading the studio. After a challenging 2024, they delivered multiple box office successes for Warner Bros. last year. However, 2026 hasn't been quite as kind. Movies like The Bride and Supergirl have bombed, and now Tom Cruise's Digger—which reportedly went way over budget—is set to be one of the year's biggest box office flops.
De Luca and Abdy have brought Warner Bros. plenty of awards success, including Ryan Coogler's Sinners. However, it seems David Ellison is looking for some fresh blood to revitalise what he's previously said will be a slate of at least 30 movies a year from the combined studios.
According to Deadline, Skydance will likely be run by current Paramount Motion Picture co-chairs, Josh Greenstein and Dana Goldberg. De Luca and Abdy learned of their ousting online last night, but it sounds like they may be asked to stick around in different roles. However, "Ellison never made a phone call to them about their future and whether or not there’s a job offer in hand."
While the duo recently renewed their contracts through 2030 under current Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, Ellison clearly feels that Greenstein and Goldberg are the right choice to spearhead Skydance.
DC Studios co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran are not mentioned in this report, though Puck said last night that Ellison will likely ask them to remain in charge of the offshoot studio. Well, "at least initially."
So far, Gunn and Safran have delivered two apparent hits in Superman and Lanterns, and a box office bomb with Supergirl. Ellison may want to give them a chance to continue with their shared vision for the DCU, but their future will surely hinge on how well Clayface and Man of Tomorrow perform.
For what it's worth, Gunn has shared Ellison's Skydance hype video on Threads, captioning it, "What once was the peak, is now just the beginning."
The response to his post has been understandably mixed, with fans responding, "Did Ellison hold you hostage just for you to post this," "I feel icky watching this," "Oh, this is such a bummer to see you post. This feels like the time you told people that The Flash was amazing," and "Paramount is going to make you turn Superman into Homelander."
Stay tuned for updates as we have them.