Register

    Director James Gunn, Peter Safran To Lead DC Studios

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments1518 Views
    Writer-director James Gunn, appears at the premiere of "The Suicide Squad," in Los Angeles on Aug. 2, 2021, left, and producer Peter Safran appears at the premiere of "The Conjuring" in Los Angeles on July 15, 2013. Gunn and Safran were named co-chairmen and CEOs of DC Studios. (AP Photo)

    By Lindsey Bahr

    --

    James Gunn, the writer-director who made the "Guardians of the Galaxy" household names for Marvel and revived "The Suicide Squad," will soon be responsible for the future of Batman, Superman and the entire DC Universe for Warner Bros. Discovery. The studio on Tuesday named Gunn and veteran executive Peter Safran co-chairmen and CEOs of the newly formed DC Studios.

    The roles will have Gunn and Safran developing a long-term plan for the company's DC Comics properties, in film, television and animation. Both will continue to also produce, develop and direct individual projects, the studio said.

    "We're honored to be the stewards of these DC characters we've loved since we were children," said Gunn and Safran in a written statement. "Our commitment to Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Harley Quinn, and the rest of the DC stable of characters is only equaled by our commitment to the wonder of human possibility these characters represent. We're excited to invigorate the theatrical experience around the world as we tell some of the biggest, most beautiful, and grandest stories ever told."

    Safran has produced many films for Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema, including Gunn's "The Suicide Squad" as well as "Aquaman," "Shazam" and the horror films in "The Conjuring" universe.

    Starting Nov. 1, Gunn and Safran will report directly to David Zaslav, the president and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, who praised their "singular and complementary talents" in a statement.

    "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," Zaslav continued.

    For the past four years, Walter Hamada headed what was previously called DC Films but officially departed the studio last week, ahead of the theatrical launch of " Black Adam."

    Zaslav had promised a "reset" to the studio's DC operations in an overhaul to implement a more Marvel-like 10-year structure and improve quality, and with that, bring in a more centralized creative executive, akin to Marvel's Kevin Feige. Some in Hollywood were surprised Tuesday when, instead, two were named.

    Unlike Marvel, DC has several different threads operating simultaneously in its films with Todd Phillips' "Joker" sequel and Matt Reeves' "The Batman," in addition to the films of Henry Cavill's Superman, who made an appearance in "Black Adam."

    Gunn, the rare filmmaker to have active projects with both main superhero powerhouses, is also wrapping up his "Guardians of the Galaxy" trilogy, which is expected in May, and he'll have a "Guardians" holiday special on Disney+ in November too — the trailer was revealed just shortly before the DC announcement.

    Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy, co-chairpersons and CEOs of Warner Bros. Film Group, said in a joint statement that, "to have them both committing to work together to forge this new era for DC is a literal dream come true. We all share a very similar sensibility and passion for this universe and the stars couldn't have aligned any better."

    Lindsey Bahr is an AP film writer

    REGISTRATION REQUIRED to access this page.

    Already registered? LOGIN
    Don't have an account? REGISTER

    Registration is FREE and FAST.

    The limited access duration has come to an end. (Access was allowed until: 2022-10-27)
    Category:News
    Tags:David ZaslavDC StudiosJames GunnPeter Safran



    DC Studios Bets Big On Milly Alcock As “Punk Rock” Supergirl In Film Directed By Craig Gillespie

    Thursday, April 30, 2026
    This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Milly Alcock in a scene from "Supergirl." (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)

    Not too long after James Gunn and Peter Safran stepped up to lead DC Studios into the future, they were riffing about Supergirl. The Tom King comic series, "Supergirl: World of Tomorrow" was one of the ideas they were especially excited about, and Gunn had a very specific image in his head. He just didn't yet know her name. "He goes, 'you know the young girl from 'House of the Dragon'? The young queen or princess? That's how I picture it, like a young punk rock girl who is just totally badass and tough,'" Safran told The Associated Press. "I was like, yeah, that sounds fantastic, and we haven't seen that before." Milly Alcock, now 26, had just started to break out playing Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (later portrayed by Emma D'Arcy) in the "Game of Thrones" prequel, when she got a request for a self-tape for the secretive Supergirl project. Alcock had been working in her native Australia since she was a teenager, but her world was suddenly getting bigger very quickly. A few weeks later, she was summoned for a screen test (her first ever). She boarded a 24-hour flight from Sydney to Atlanta and gave it her best shot. "I kind of had a feeling, I remember I like got back to my hotel room and I like sat down and I was like, 'Oh, this is gonna, something's gonna happen,'" Alcock said. "I just had like an intuition that like, this is going to be a very exciting challenge if it goes in my favor." "This is crazy, what have I done?" Ten days later, Gunn texted her an article in the trade publication Deadline: "'Supergirl': New Woman Of Steel Is 'House Of The Dragon's' Milly Alcock." No phone call. No context. And all she could think was, "This is crazy, what have I done?" A few days later, she was back on that 24-hour flight to film her... Read More

    MySHOOT Profiles


    Add A Comment