James Gunn and Peter Safran were hired as co-heads of DC Studios in 2022. During the four years since, the pair has overseen a reboot of DC’s on-screen franchise, releasing multiple movies and TV shows. To their credit, many of these projects (including the new series Lanterns) have been successful, but Supergirl bombing at the box office is a blemish on their résumé. In the aftermath of that film’s performance, there was much discussion about whether or not Gunn and Safran would remain in charge at DC, particularly with the Paramount merger looming. Based on the latest reports, Paramount intends to keep Gunn and Safran around should the merger go through, and now there’s more evidence suggesting the two DC execs are safe.
During the latest episode of the podcast The Hot Mic, industry insider Jeff Sneider provided a brief update on Gunn’s contract status. In a segment covering the recent Gunn and Safran news, Sneider said, “[Gunn] will [stick around]. He just extended.”
Things are always subject to change, especially when there’s a major corporate merger pending. It’s important to note that it’s been reported that until the acquisition is finalized, there’s a restriction on deals Warner Bros. can make concerning “key property IP,” which includes DC. It would be reasonable to assume that these restrictions would apply to contracts for talent and/or studio executives, suggesting Gunn and Safran wouldn’t be able to re-up until after the dust has settled. Assuming the merger goes through and Paramount takes over, the new leadership could decide to take things in a new direction by bringing in their own people to oversee things.
This is all to say that until there’s an official announcement regarding Gunn’s future at DC, fans should try their best to keep their excitement in check. However, there are optimistic signs. In addition to the recent reports about Gunn’s contract and Paramount’s plans for DC, Gunn himself has said that there are no DC Universe projects on hold, and Safran confirmed talks with Paramount’s David Ellison. One could take all of this at face value and feel as if Gunn and Safran have steady futures at DC Studios. The cynical way to look at the situation is everyone involved is saying the right things publicly to quell any fears about the merger. Paramount wants to sell people on the idea of a smooth transition of power that doesn’t upset the apple cart too much.
It is possible that Paramount is actually intrigued by what Gunn and Safran are up to and want to keep them around. WB is home to many popular franchises, and DC is at the top of the list. Paramount could use some lucrative tentpoles to boost its film slate, so perhaps they intend to work with Gunn and Safran, who are already actively developing multiple projects. Retaining Gunn and Safran would ensure the established DC pipeline remains intact, allowing Paramount to quickly reap the benefits of its new acquisition. If Paramount were to move on from Gunn and Safran, there would need to be a search for a new DC Studios CEO and then decisions would have to be made on a slate of projects, which could cause delays.
The best thing for DC Studios right now is to maintain the forward momentum established by Lanterns, which earned critical acclaim and posted record-breaking viewership numbers. So far, Supergirl is the only real miss on the DCU lineup. Creature Commandos, Superman, Peacemaker Season 2, and now Lanterns were all successful, with Superman even becoming the highest-grossing comic book movie of 2025. If Clayface and Man of Tomorrow are hits as well, it becomes much easier to dismiss Supergirl as a bump in the road. Paramount would have little reason to change things up if everything’s going well under Gunn and Safran.
