DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn confirmed exactly how the future of the DCU under him and Peter Safran will work after the Skydance merger. The tumultuous period of Warner Bros.' looming sale is finally over, as the studio, and with it, DC Studios, is now in the hands of Paramount CEO David Ellison, with the two merging to form Skydance. As with any change in ownership, many have been concerned about how the sale will affect DC Studios' leadership and direction. But it has finally been confirmed that Gunn and Safran will remain as co-CEOs, and Skydance has been eager to tout the DCU's future.
James Gunn clarified exactly how his position at DC Studios works under the newly formed Skydance in response to a fan on Threads. The DCU boss confirmed that @leepacebatman was "exactly accurate" in explaining that he will "report directly" to Skydance co-CEOs David Ellison and Ynon Kreiz, just as he did at Warner Bros. Discovery, where he answered only to CEO David Zaslav.
Skydance previously announced its corporate structure that places Gunn and Safran in the "CEO Business Leadership Team," all of whom will report directly to Ellison and Kreiz. They stand alongside Skydance DTC CCO Casey Bloys (who will run HBO and Paramount+) and Skydance Motion Picture Group co-chairs Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein (who will oversee most of the other studios).
That same structure was felt before the merger when Gunn and Safran were hired to report to Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, bypassing Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group CEOs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy. Effectively, the arrangement remains that DC Studios is its own entity within Skydance, as it was within Warner Bros. Discovery, with Gunn and Safran maintaining their autonomy.
By contrast, New Line Cinema's Richard Brener, Warner Bros. Animation's Bill Damaschke, and all of the Paramount and Warner Bros. studios heads will report to Goldberg and Greenstein, placing them lower in the Skydance food chain. The distinction between DC Studios and Skydance's other divisions would signal either that Gunn and Safran are being granted more autonomy than other studio heads or that Ellison is eager to take a more hands-on approach to the DCU.
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Gunn spoke with The Hollywood Reporter at the Clayface premiere, where he stated that Ellison was eager to find out all the "secrets" of where the DCU was going after Man of Tomorrow, having decided to continue with the current vision:
"David knows everything. We told David long ago. We didn't go through everything that we had planned, but we went through what the basic plan was. And then, when he brought us in and said he wanted to continue with what we were doing, we told him. All he wanted to do was talk about what was happening, what the secrets were, where the DCU was going, what was going to happen from 'Man of Tomorrow' on."
While much of the DCU's broader direction and the Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters slate remain closely guarded secrets at the blue brand, a recent report revealed 10 new movies that will be a top priority at DC Studios after the Skydance merger.
Peter Safran also addressed that Ellisonification of the DCU in an interview with IGN, confirming that the Skydance CEO "sees the long-term vision" and wants to "give [them] the resources" to continue down the current trajectory:
"You know what, he was very complimentary about what we've done and just wants to give us the resources to keep doing what we're doing. I think he sees the long-term vision that we have, and we certainly laid it out for him earlier this year, and he wants us to keep doing that."
Safran also described the shift as something of a "coming home" for DC Studios on the marketing front, as Josh Goldstine (the man behind Superman's early teaser trailer campaign) will oversee the distribution of all Skydance releases. Goldstine left Warner Bros. in January 2025 and moved to Paramount that October, thereby sitting out the latter half of Superman's promotion, although he will now have a crucial role in promoting Man of Tomorrow and future DCU movies.
