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James Gunn and Peter Safran appointed as joint heads of the DC Extended Universe

By John Freeman on October 26, 2022

James Gunn and Peter Safran have been appointed to the new roles of Co-Chairmen and Chief Executive Officers of DC Studios, the new name for DC Films, overseeing the overall creative direction of the DC Universe across film, TV, and animation under a single banner.

“The unprecedented move, in which a top director will assume a top executive post, marks the end of a months-long search by Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav to replace DC Films boss Walter Hamada, who departed the studio last week,” noted Hollywood Reporter, which broke the news. “That search had all of Hollywood guessing and playing executive bingo for who would land one of the most coveted — and challenging — jobs in town.

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Gunn and Safran have extensive superhero experience, having brought some of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and DC Universe’s most popular characters to life in hit films and series.

James Gunn is winding down his commitments to Marvel with the release of the Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special and then the series’ third film, launching next summer, marking the end of his relationship with Marvel Studios.

Peter Safran is currently producing a spate of DC projects, including the sequels to Aquaman and Shazam!, launching next year.

The appointments will be effective on 1st November 2022.

James Gunn - via Instagram — *James Gunn – via Instagram*

“DC has among the most entertaining, powerful, and iconic characters in the world and I am thrilled to have the singular and complementary talents of James and Peter joining our world-class team and overseeing the creative direction of the storied DC Universe,” said David Zaslav, President and CEO of WarnerBros. Discovery, to whom Gunn and Safran will report.

“Their decades of experience in filmmaking, close ties to the creative community, and proven track record thrilling superhero fans around the globe make them uniquely qualified to develop a long-term strategy across film, TV, and animation, and take this iconic franchise to the next level of creative storytelling.”

• DC Films/ Studios – Official site

• James Gunn @Instagram

• Hollywood Reporter – DC Shocker: James Gunn, Peter Safran to Lead Film, TV and Animation Division (Exclusive)

• Variety: James Gunn and Peter Safran Give DC Studios and David Zaslav Bold, Brash and Slightly Risky New Guardians

• Wikipedia – DC Films Entry

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.