With former DC Film President Walter Hamada officially out of business, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that filmmaker James Gunn and producer Peter Safran were appointed to lead DC’s film, television and animated projects as co-chairmen and co-CEOs of DC Studios, which was previously DC Films.
Gunn and Safran’s estate ends a month-long search for the recently merged Warner Bros. boss. Discovery, David Zaslav, who had been looking for a figurine type “Kevin Feige” to run this part of the studio. Gunn commented on his new post, but merely tweeted his excitement for things to come, albeit brief.
Gunn and Safran will now lead all development and execution of a long-term plan for many DC Comics characters and properties. In addition to these responsibilities, Gunn and Safran will develop, direct and produce their own projects.
Gunn will focus on the creative side, while Safran will handle the business and production side. They will also report directly to Zaslav and work closely with new Warner film bosses Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy.
“DC are among the most entertaining, powerful and iconic characters in the world and I’m thrilled to have the singular and complementary talents of James and Peter join our world-class team and oversee the creative direction of the legendary DC Universe,” said Zaslav in a statement (via THR), explaining why they felt like the right choice. “Their decades of experience in filmmaking, their strong ties to the creative community and their proven track record of enthusing superhero fans around the world make them uniquely qualified to develop a long-term strategy across film, television and animation, and take this iconic franchise to the next level of creative storytelling.”
Gunn directed both the soft reboot of The Suicide Squad and brought its Peacmaker spin-off series to HBO Max, and both received critical acclaim and solid ratings. Safran was able to build on The Conjuring Universe and produce DC movies like Aquaman, Shazam! (and their upcoming sequels), The Suicide Squad, and many more under its banner and through its first-look deal with Warner Bros.
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