In the wake of yesterday’s news about James Gunn and Peter Safran’s sudden exit from DC Studios, and the pair being replaced by Jeremy Latcham, still more details are spilling out about their departure and how it went down.
THR has done an extensive report saying with “Clayface” passing $100 million globally, the pair were talking about more “spooky, slimmed-down DC movies”. Gunn was also in the midst of writing a third “Superman” installment as part of plan to make a trilogy when word came down last Friday to them.
Despite being previously assured they would be part of the new Skydance mega-studio, Skydance co-CEOs David Ellison and Ynon Kreiz had now had a change of plans and both Gunn and Safran were out.
Instead former Marvel turned indie producer Jeremy Latcham, who is mostly focused on producing faith-based works like “Flyer” and the House of David” TV series, would take over. Latcham was actually a big advocate for Gunn’s hiring on “Guardians of the Galaxy” at Marvel.
Gunn and Safran’s departure was due to multiple reasons from corporate structure issues to more basic financials with “Supergirl” bombing and “Superman” not being a big enough hit for Skydance.
Their sources say Gunn truly is relieved to go fully back to the creative side of the business and to get away from the studio politics. That said, It is unclear if he will get the chance to finish any of his DC slate.
The Wrap adds that while Gunn & Safran only learned about their exit the other day, plans had been in motion at Skydance for weeks with Latcham alleged to be in quiet talks to take on the job over a month ago.
Unlike Gunn who was very vocal on social media, Latcham is not expected to be and has locked down his accounts ahead of the announcement as well as deleted his X posts. Latcham is also expected to put the focus very much back on the big heroes – Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash and more.
Beyond the already shot “Man of Tomorrow,” no other films in Gunn’s DC slate have been greenlit. They say the studio could potentially scrap Gunn’s plans, but avoid having to reboot yet again and keep certain actors in place such as David Corenswet’s Superman and even Robert Pattinson’s Batman.
“Lanterns” showrunner Chris Mundy summed things up best, saying right now nothing is decided. He tells The Playlist: “We thought everything had settled [after the merger]. I can imagine a world where everyone retreats to their corners, but then, you know, it’s a coin flip, 50/50.”
