Gunn and Safran to stay leading DC under Ellison

James Gunn and Peter Safran are staying in charge of DC Studios under its new owner David Ellison.

The pair confirmed the arrangement in interviews with The Hollywood Reporter at the world premiere of Clayface, held on Oct. 13, 2026 at the Hollywood Legion Theater in Los Angeles. Ellison has invited them to continue as co-chairmen and co-CEOs, meaning joint bosses, reporting directly to him.

Ellison is chairman and CEO of Paramount Skydance, which has acquired Warner Bros. Discovery. That deal put him above DC Studios, a Warner Bros.-owned label, according to Deadline. Gunn and Safran said they met Ellison in person and presented their multi-year plan for DC, including details they are keeping secret about where the story goes after Man of Tomorrow.

The two men began running DC Studios together in 2022, according to Variety. They rebooted the screen continuity, the shared storyline that links the films and series, with Superman. They were hired as co-CEOs between the two seasons of the television series Peacemaker.

Their latest film is Clayface. It is the third official film in the new DC Universe, following Superman and Supergirl. Directed by James Watkins and written by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini, it is scheduled for theatrical release on Oct. 23.

Gunn is currently in post-production, the editing and effects stage after filming, on Man of Tomorrow, which he is directing. He is also writing his next movie, according to Deadline. Two other projects, The Batman Part II and The People v. Gorilla Grodd, are in production.

For fans, this means continuity behind the camera. The ownership of the studio has changed, but the same two producers will decide which heroes reach cinemas and when.