DC Studios is officially changing the hierarchy of comic book films. Right on the heels of the exit of DC Films president Walter Hamada from Warner Bros Discovery comes the announcement that there’s a new regime in place. The Hollywood Reporter is breaking the news that director James Gunn and producer Peter Safran will LEAD the newly formed DC Studios as co-CEOs and co-chairs.
In a stunning turn of events, filmmaker James Gunn and producer Peter Safran have been tapped to lead DC’s film, TV and animation efforts as co-chairs and co-CEOs of DC Studios, a newly formed division at Warner Bros. that will replace DC Films.
The unprecedented move, in which a top director will assume a top executive post, marks the end of a months-long search by Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav to replace DC Films boss Walter Hamada, who departed the studio last week. That search had all of Hollywood guessing and playing executive bingo for who would land one of the most coveted — and challenging — jobs in town.
This move makes a lot of sense for Warner Bros. Discovery. James Gunn successfully takes obscure comic book characters and makes them household names like Groot, Drax, and Peacemaker. In addition, Peter Safran has produced practically all of the successful DC films at Warner Bros and will be in charge of the business side of things. This news is extremely shocking and also extremely exciting for the newly formed DC Studios.
It’s no secret that I’m not the biggest fan of James Gunn’s films but I am a massive fan of his nerdom. He’s the only director I know to organize and play a Marvel vs DC baseball game at his own wedding, proving he’s a geek among geeks.
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I am excited at the idea of having someone extremely familiar with the comics in charge of choosing the talent selection for films. This guy gets it. I can’t wait to see what will happen next now that Gunn has been given the keys to the kingdom.
