James Gunn, the writer-director who made the 鈥淕uardians of the Galaxy鈥� household names for Marvel and revived 鈥淭he Suicide Squad,鈥� will soon be responsible for the future of Batman, Superman and the entire DC Universe for Warner Bros. Discovery. The studio on Tuesday named Gunn and veteran executive Peter Safran co-chairmen and CEOs of the newly formed DC Studios.
The roles will have Gunn and Safran developing a long-term plan for the company鈥檚 DC Comics properties, in film, television and animation. Both will continue to also produce, develop and direct individual projects, the studio said.
鈥淲e鈥檙e honored to be the stewards of these DC characters we鈥檝e loved since we were children,鈥� said Gunn and Safran in a written statement. 鈥淥ur commitment to Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Harley Quinn, and the rest of the DC stable of characters is only equaled by our commitment to the wonder of human possibility these characters represent. We鈥檙e excited to invigorate the theatrical experience around the world as we tell some of the biggest, most beautiful, and grandest stories ever told.鈥�
Safran has produced many films for Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema, including Gunn鈥檚 鈥淭he Suicide Squad鈥� as well as 鈥淎quaman,鈥� 鈥淪hazam鈥� and the horror films in 鈥淭he Conjuring鈥� universe.
Starting Nov. 1, Gunn and Safran will report directly to David Zaslav, the president and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, who praised their 鈥渟ingular and complementary talents鈥� in a statement.
鈥淭heir decades of experience in filmmaking, close ties to the creative community, and proven track record thrilling superhero fans around the globe make them uniquely qualified to develop a long-term strategy across film, TV, and animation, and take this iconic franchise to the next level of creative storytelling,鈥� Zaslav continued.
For the past four years, Walter Hamada headed what was previously called DC Films but officially departed the studio last week, ahead of the theatrical launch of 鈥� .鈥�
Zaslav to the studio鈥檚 DC operations in an overhaul to implement a more Marvel-like 10-year structure and improve quality, and with that, bring in a more centralized creative executive, akin to Marvel鈥檚 Kevin Feige. Some in Hollywood were surprised Tuesday when, instead, two were named.
Unlike Marvel, DC has several different threads operating simultaneously in its films with Todd Phillips' 鈥淛oker鈥� sequel and Matt Reeves鈥� 鈥淭he Batman,鈥� in addition to the films of Henry Cavill鈥檚 Superman, who made an appearance in 鈥淏lack Adam.鈥�
Gunn, the rare filmmaker to have active projects with both main superhero powerhouses, is also wrapping up his 鈥淕uardians of the Galaxy鈥� trilogy, which is expected in May, and he鈥檒l have a 鈥淕uardians鈥� holiday special on Disney+ in November too 鈥� the trailer was revealed just shortly before the DC announcement.
Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy, co-chairpersons and CEOs of Warner Bros. Film Group, said in a joint statement that, 鈥渢o have them both committing to work together to forge this new era for DC is a literal dream come true. We all share a very similar sensibility and passion for this universe and the stars couldn鈥檛 have aligned any better."
Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
