James Gunn has described his four years at the helm of DC Studios as a demanding experience, admitting that the corporate side of the job often left him with little time for filmmaking or his family, writes Variety.
The filmmaker shared his thoughts after stepping down as co-chief executive of DC Studios alongside Peter Safran, bringing their four-year leadership run to an end. Former Marvel executive Jeremy Latcham will take over as the studio’s president and chief creative officer.
In a lengthy social media statement, Gunn reflected on the opportunities and difficulties that came with overseeing one of Hollywood’s biggest superhero franchises.
“What only the closest people to me have known over the past four years is my time at DC Studios has been trying, to say the least,” he wrote. “I dislike the at-times corporate nature of the job.”
Gunn said he had always been a hard worker, but his previous life as a filmmaker allowed him occasional breaks. Running the studio, however, made it difficult to switch off, even when spending time with his loved ones.
He also spoke about the challenge of dividing his attention between projects he felt passionate about and the administrative responsibilities that came with leading a major studio. He credited Safran with shouldering much of the corporate workload.
Despite the pressures, Gunn described several moments during his tenure as deeply rewarding. He singled out the release of ‘Superman’ and ‘Clayface’, the making of ‘Peacemaker’ and his experience working on the upcoming ‘Man of Tomorrow’.
He called the filmmaking process behind ‘Man of Tomorrow’ the best experience of his career so far. Gunn also praised the people he worked with at DC, including the studio crew, collaborators, actors and fans.
He reserved particular appreciation for Safran, describing him as the smartest and most competent person he knew and the best partner he could have asked for.
Gunn said he would miss working with the people at DC and being involved with its iconic characters. However, he also expressed relief at returning to filmmaking full-time.
His departure does not mean an immediate break from the DC universe. Gunn confirmed that he and Safran would remain involved in upcoming projects, including ‘Man of Tomorrow’, while he is also writing another DC project whose future remains undecided.
The leadership change follows Skydance’s takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery. Latcham will assume responsibility for DC’s film, television and animation projects from 1 December.
Gunn and Safran took charge of DC Studios in 2022, with the aim of bringing its projects under a unified creative direction. Their tenure included the release of ‘Superman’ and the development of television projects such as ‘Peacemaker’, ‘Creature Commandos’ and ‘Lanterns’.
Although Gunn is leaving the executive role, his creative involvement with the franchise is set to continue. He ended his statement by thanking fans for embracing the stories and characters the team brought to the screen.
