David Zaslav has made perhaps his most important hire yet as CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, naming “Guardians of the Galaxy” director James Gunn and “Aquaman” producer Peter Safran as co-chairmen and CEOs of the newly renamed DC Studios, overseeing all film, TV and animation production for the comic book franchise.
“For over 60 years, these and other DC characters have captivated and inspired generations of fans around the world, and as stewards of the iconic franchise, we feel a real responsibility to preserve and expand the DCU for the enjoyment of future generations,” Zaslav wrote in an internal memo announcing Gunn and Safran’s hire.
“In many ways, we have only begun to scratch the surface. James and Peter have a broad vision for DC storytelling and how it all fits together, and they plan to create even more compelling and unforgettable experiences for DC fans worldwide, while building a sustainable growth business out of the iconic franchise,” he continued.
Hiring one of the most well-known superhero directors of the past decade will certainly rebuild goodwill among DC fans after months of ugly headlines, including the cancellation of the HBO Max film “Batgirl” and reports that attempts to find a megaproducer that could be the equivalent of Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige were not bearing fruit.
But now, DC has a creative head in Gunn who is familiar with the Warner lot. Along with the wildly successful “Guardians of the Galaxy” films — which have a Disney+ holiday special completed and a third feature film in post-production — Gunn was also the director of the gory DC film “The Suicide Squad,” which was a box office bomb but proved to be popular among hardcore fans, spawning the more successful HBO Max series “Peacemaker” starring John Cena.
Safran, meanwhile, brings 25 years of producing experience, including the DC films “Shazam!” and “Aquaman.” He will be hitting the ground running when he begins his four-year contract as DC chief next week, as he is already a producer on the sequels to those films, “Shazam: Fury of the Gods” and “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,” which will be released next year.
Safran also has experience creating cinematic universes, having worked with James Wan to build New Line Cinema’s “Conjuring” universe. The horror series has grossed over $2 billion at the global box office against a combined production budget of less than $200 million.
“[Gunn and Safran] are highly respected by creatives and talent alike and bring their own deep love and appreciation for the characters and stories of the DCU to their new roles. As they told me, this is a passion project for them, not just a job… and that is sure to be evident in their storytelling,” Zaslav wrote.
But one of the first tasks for the two new executives will be to establish a long-term vision for DC at a time when it has many projects with different characters and tones in development. Along with the aforementioned “Shazam” and “Aquaman” sequels, follow-ups to Matt Reeves’ “The Batman,” Patty Jenkins’ “Wonder Woman 1984” and Todd Philips “Joker” are all being developed by those filmmakers.
And then there’s Dwayne Johnson and “Black Adam,” which just opened to $67 million at the domestic box office this past weekend and which heralded the return of Henry Cavill as Superman. Cavill has promised future appearances as the hero of Krypton while Johnson has publicly touted his own vision for Black Adam and the DC Universe.
The coming months will see how Gunn and Safran handle these projects and whether their vision for DC involves a cinematic universe like the one Marvel Studios has developed since 2008 or the one that Zack Snyder attempted to create with films like “Batman v Superman” and “Justice League,” or if the focus will be more on allowing creatives like Jenkins and Reeves to continue their own plans with specific DC characters without developing plans to link them together.