DC Studios executives James Gunn and Peter Safran felt pretty secure under the new Skydance regime.
After surviving a merger that cost famed Warner Bros. executives their jobs. Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy, the duo rejoiced in the modest success of clay facea horror film released on October 21 that surpassed $100 million worldwide on a budget of $44 million. There was even talk of making DC films scarier and lighter.
Gunn had also completed production on The man of tomorrowits sequel to Superman which is set to be released in July 2027, and sources say he was writing a third installment, part of a plan to make a trilogy and release a Superman movie every two years, perhaps even turning the franchise into a Justice League team-up.
Then came Friday, November 6, when Skydance co-CEOs David Ellison and Ynon Kreiz arrived at Gunn and Safran’s offices on the Warner Bros. lot. in Burbank. There, according to sources, DC executives were informed that despite previous assurances that they would be part of the new mega-studio Skydance, Ellison and Kreiz had changed plans. And now, after four years as two of the most visible faces in comics and television, they were out.
And their replacement was surprising. It wasn’t about a flashy C-suiter or a recently ousted executive amid Hollywood consolidation.
He was Jeremy Latcham, the mild-mannered producer who was once a key member of the Marvel Studios management team before moving to Texas to become an independent producer.
An occasional foray into big budget cinema like Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves nevertheless, Latcham focused on inspirational films such as the Wright Brothers feature film. Prospectusfor the faith-focused studio Wonder Project, where he also helped direct House of Davida television show about the biblical character. The producer is known for speaking about his Christian faith and wanting to create projects that uplift people.
“I had a nagging feeling that I needed to make more films that had deeper meaning for me,” Latcham said of Wonder Project during an appearance on the Biblical Brothers podcast while promoting Nate Bargatze’s comedy The breadwinner. “Let’s be the HBO of religious and family audiences. Let’s try to make films and television shows that restore faith in things to believe in.”
On the other hand, Latcham was instrumental in Gunn’s rise, advocating for the niche director’s hiring at Marvel Studios. Guardians of the Galaxywhich has made Gunn a top filmmaker who earns 8-figure salaries for his work as a director.
An insider said the management shakeup had been in the works since early fall and was precipitated by contact with Latcham from Josh Greenstein, who co-chairs the Skydance Motion Picture Group with Dana Goldberg. The two first worked together nearly 20 years ago, when Latcham was a rising executive at Marvel and Greenstein was in the marketing department at Paramount, the studio that released Iron Man And Iron Man 2. They teamed up again when Greenstein was at Sony and directed Spider-Man: Homecoming with Marvel.
Sources note several points of tension between DC’s Gunn and Safran and Skydance’s Greenstein and Goldberg. Prior to the Skydance acquisition, Gunn and Safran reported directly to Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav; their contracts stipulated that they maintain this type of direct reporting structure in the event of a change in management, in this case Ellison. This has created friction with Greenstein and Goldberg, who are trying to bring all film production under their purview. Gunn and Safran, meanwhile, were accustomed to exercising tight control over all aspects of DC’s product rollout.
“They had the final say on movies, TV shows and animation,” says one insider. They were not about to be overlapped in the hierarchical structure, several sources add.
Another point of tension: Sources say DC executives were either unavailable or slow to share plans, slate details and footage with Skydance film executives. Ultimately, Greenstein and Goldberg won their case and upon the new hire, Latcham will report to them.
Another insider is more direct in his assessment. Ellison never wanted DC to report directly to him and had no time to deal with studio politics, such as posturing between division heads.
And then there was the question of DC’s finances. The films released were not good for business, while Supergirl was nothing but a disaster, in the eyes of the new regime. Even Supermanwhich grossed $618 million worldwide and was profitable, didn’t make a net profit or have the kind of impact on pop culture that this kind of film should have had, the thought of the Skydance diet is gone.
Latcham’s rise to the top of DC Studios began 22 years ago, during a very different era for superhero films. In 2004, Latcham was working as an assistant at Endeavor when Endeavor director David Maisel left to run Marvel Studios as president and hired him as an assistant at the upstart studio. Latcham was reportedly surprised and disappointed when he showed up at Marvel’s modest Santa Monica Blvd. offices only to discover that it was not yet a real studio, but rather an organization for giving script notes to Hollywood studios making licensed films based on Marvel characters.
But a year and a half later, Maisel collaborated with Marvel to finance his own films, starting with Iron Man. As Latcham rose through the ranks at Marvel, eventually becoming Kevin Feige’s assistant and then his right-hand man, he was known to wonder aloud whether his grandparents would like their films. In other words, he asked, “Would this film resonate with ordinary people beyond Hollywood?” ” while walking the thin line to answer what superfans would be watching.
Sources affectionately describe Latcham as a middle-of-the-road shooter, whose goal is to make hits for the masses and bring people into movie theaters. If Gunn was the guy delivering F-bombs and lesser-known characters, Latcham was the guy delivering what was more in line with Ellison’s meat-and-potatoes tastes, according to multiple sources.
Known as a family man who doesn’t mind the trappings of Hollywood, Latcham is expected to divide his time between Los Angeles and his home in Texas, where he lives with his wife and daughter, as well as his parents, who live on their property. He’s not the kind of producer who has extensive relationships with agents, which can be detrimental or beneficial, depending on who you talk to. He is expected to be a very active producer who enjoys spending time on the sets.
Gunn and Safran will still have direct ties to the studio, but less control. Safran is a prolific producer who has a long-standing relationship with Warner Bros. The Conjuring films, a franchise that is still very active.
As for Gunn, those close to him note that he is somewhat relieved to fully return to the creative side of the business. In an Instagram post Monday, he admitted that life as an executive and the studio politics that surrounded him weren’t for him. Gunn said: “I will miss the people around me and being co-custodian of these great characters, but I am also incredibly relieved and excited to be returning to pure cinema. »
Latcham is currently unraveling the projects he was producing, including the big-budget film Naruto for Lionsgate and Sony.
At the time the news was made public, Latcham and Gunn had not spoken about the transition in Washington, but planned to speak by phone Monday afternoon, according to sources.
It’s unclear if Gunn will get the chance to complete any of his visions for Superman, let alone the DC slate that he and Safran announced with great fanfare in 2022. The slate was barely getting started in the eyes of some.
For DC fans, Monday’s uproar was a reminder of how DC movies can’t take a break on the 21stst century. At this stage, the only films on the horizon are The man of tomorrow And The Batman Part IIwhich recently saw Steven Soderbergh step behind the camera to help Matt Reeves.
How many times can fans continue to invest in films and actors before having the rug pulled out from under them again? That’s a real concern, said a source with knowledge of DC’s inner workings.
Gn entert
