James Gunn Leaves DC Studios: Jeremy Latcham Named President

James Gunn and Peter Safran are leaving the top jobs at DC Studios, four years after they were hired to build one connected DC universe. Jeremy Latcham, a Marvel Studios veteran who worked with Gunn on the "Guardians of the Galaxy" trilogy, takes over as president and chief creative officer, Skydance announced Monday.

Skydance says the pair will "return full time to their creative work." That includes post-production on "Man of Tomorrow," the "Superman" sequel. Gunn and Safran said in a joint statement that they were proud of what the studio built, pointing to "Peacemaker," "Creature Commandos," "Lanterns" and "Clayface," and that they looked forward to seeing what Latcham brings to DC's next chapter. They also said they were eager to return to the stories they love, including the next chapter of Clark and Lex in "Man of Tomorrow."

Latcham was part of the founding core of Marvel Studios under Kevin Feige, according to TheWrap, and worked on "Iron Man," "The Avengers" and Tom Holland's "Spider-Man" films. At DC he will lead film, television and animation, overseeing the creative pipeline, production, talent and strategy. He reports to Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein, co-chairs of Skydance Motion Picture Group. Skydance's David Ellison and Ynon Kreiz thanked Gunn and Safran for resetting the studio's foundation and said they have full confidence the pair will ensure a smooth transition.

The record they leave behind is mixed. "Superman" grossed $618 million worldwide with strong reviews. "Supergirl" followed this summer and made $126.4 million. "Clayface," a lower-budget horror film, has taken $109 million through three weekends in theaters, which TheWrap calls a decent success. On television, "Peacemaker" and "Creature Commandos" led to a recent hit in "Lanterns."

Five weeks ago, the outlook was different. In early October, as Skydance's takeover of the Warner Bros. film business took shape, Deadline reported that Gunn and Safran had met with Ellison and that the meeting went well, and The Hollywood Reporter reported, as relayed by ComicBookMovie.com, that the pair had been asked to stay and keep doing what they were doing. Skydance named Goldberg and Greenstein to lead the combined film division at the same time. The announcement Monday does not say what changed, and neither statement gives a reason for the move.

For U.S. audiences, the closest comparison is Marvel itself: the man now running DC spent his career inside the studio DC has chased for a decade, and his old collaborator is stepping out of the executive chair to go back to directing. TheWrap notes the story is still developing.

"Man of Tomorrow" is due next year, and it is the one DC film on the calendar that Gunn will still be making himself.