The major change-up at DC Studios is still rocking the entertainment world, with Warner Bros. letting go of co-heads James Gunn and Peter Safran as it enters a new era following its merger with Skydance. Now, former Marvel executive Jeremy Latcham is in charge of the DC Universe, and word is already circulating that Gunn and Safran’s franchise plans are being revised into something entirely different.
We only have bits and pieces of the actual story behind why Skydance CEO David Ellison and other leadership felt there needed to be a change. Some are saying the delay in launching major franchise characters like Batman and Wonder Woman was seen as a major misstep; others think Gunn and Safran didn’t do enough to turn the DCU’s creative endeavors into lucrative profit centers. Either way, the change was made, and it seems fans are evenly split in their opinions about where the DCU should go next.
With the news that James Gunn and Peter Safran are stepping down from their DCU co-CEO roles, what is your immediate reaction?
As you can see from ComicBook’s internal polling, there is nearly a four-way tie between those who are simply upset by the sudden change in leadership at DC Studios; those who want the franchise to continue as is, with new leadership; those who want the “Gunnverse” version of the DCU thrown out and rebooted; and those who are still on the fence, waiting to see how Skydance proceeds with things. If there is one opinion less popular than the others, it is the idea of keeping the current version of the DCU going without Gunn and Safran at the helm. But then, that’s where the “wait and see” group looks wise and discerning: those who didn’t enjoy Gunn’s vision (or preferred Zack Snyder’s version of a DC Universe) may think this change is for the best, but things could always get worse than what we’ve got.
This debate isn’t likely to end anytime soon – at least not until a solid plan gets rolled out by Skydance, with a slate of projects fans get hyped over, and actual progression on the production front. For now, there are simply a lot of DC fans venting their frustrations, one way or the other.
“Nobody should be surprised,” one fan posted. “Frankly, I don’t get why they weren’t out when the merger was a done deal. This DCU was not making money.”
“They should just stop trying to make the DCU a thing, and just make good standalone movies,” another fan said. “They don’t need to copy Marvel to make this interconnected group of movies to fulfill cameos. Take the best characters, make the best movies using their best stories & villains.”
That’s quickly becoming one of the bigger side conversations in this discourse: the track record clearly shows that DC has seen the most success with films or franchises that are standalone (like Chris Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, Joker, or the original Batman and Superman movie franchises), and has almost always stumbled when trying to get a larger shared universe of characters off the ground.
Skydance reportedly has a mandate in place to get an entire Justice League franchise off the ground sooner before later. That may be the only major keystone that can tell us which universe-building strategy is most viable.
The DCU will continue with Man of Tomorrow on July 9, 2027. How do you want Skydance to approach the next phase of the DCU?
