James Gunn, Peter Safran step down as heads of DC Studios, return to 'pure filmmaking'

Gunn, who was behind Guardians of the Galaxy, and Safran headed up DC studios for four years and no one thought their work was done as they still had many years worth of content plans ahead of them, per The Hollywood Reporter. During their tenure, they released films such as Superman, Supergirl, and the recent Clayface. They also oversaw DC Comics inspired television shows The Penguin, Peacemaker season 2, and Lanterns.

While they’re both stepping down as executives, they are not finished with DC as producers. Gunn is working on Man of Tomorrow, a Superman sequel, as well as TV show The People v. Gorilla Grodd, and the two are working on The Batman: Part II, as well.

In a post, Gunn wrote:

“Oh, boy. What a four years. Thanks to all of you who have supported me and Peter in our time as the heads of DC Studios.

“When I was a kid growing up in Manchester, Missouri, I used to write and draw my own comics with a mix of DC Comics characters and my own characters. Having full access to these characters to do whatever we wanted has been a dream come true. I didn’t know if I wanted this job when it was offered to me, but I just couldn’t pass up the unique opportunity. I’m glad I took the job.”

He praised those he has worked with and spoke highly of the projects he’s been able to work on, specifically noting that “the best part of all has been working with Peter Safran,” who he called “the smartest and most competent person I know.”

Gunn went on to say that he was not crazy about the corporate nature of the executive position and that he is “incredibly relieved and excited to get back to pure filmmaking.”

“That’s not to say that Peter and I are immediately done with DC or superheroes,” he said. “We have a Man of Tomorrow out this summer. And we’ve just been engaged on another DC project which I’m writing, and we’ll see where it goes after that. And of course, the characters we set up will live on.”