James Gunn’s DC Universe Being ‘Dismantled’ As DC Studios Prepares Reset

These DC reboots are starting to become a bit of a tradition. In the wake of James Gunn and Peter Safran “stepping down” as DC Studios co-heads, it seems the new guard is ready to tear down almost their entire cinematic project. At least, according to a new report.

Puck‘s Matthew Belloni claims to have heard that “plans are already afoot” for new DC Studios head Jeremy Latcham — who steps into the role of president and chief creative officer of DC Studios as of December 1, 2026 — to scrap almost everything Gunn and Safran had planned post-“Man of Tomorrow,” “The Batman: Part II,” and an unnamed HBO series. As Belloni put it, “So DC goes back into reboot mode … again.”

This is the second major reset for DC’s cinematic enterprise (third if you count the pre and post-Walter Hamada era), and it frankly seems like a dire state of affairs. When Gunn and Safran were brought in to head up the newly-christened DC Studios back in 2022, they had grand plans to revive the franchise following a disappointing end to the DC Extended Universe or “Snyderverse.” This was supposed to be the moment DC turned things around and finally matched Marvel’s cinematic success with an ambitious shared universe. Now, it’s all come to a premature end as Skydance CEO David Ellison (who now oversees the newly merged Paramount and Warner Bros.) seemingly prepares to take a wrecking ball to Gunn and Safran’s still fledgling DC Universe.

In his article, Matthew Belloni noted how James Gunn and Peter Safran reported to the Warner Bros. Discovery CEO, a post previously held by David Zaslav. The erstwhile head of Warners seemed perfectly happy to let his newly appointed DC Studios co-heads take full creative control. But, as Belloni noted, “Maybe it was too much freedom… hence ‘Supergirl.'”

This is, of course, a reference to the box office flop that was this year’s “Supergirl,” a solo outing for Milly Alcock’s Kara Zor-El that brought in just $126.5 million at the box office against a $170 million budget. And while /Film’s own “Supergirl” review argued the movie has an aspirational and uplifting message and is nowhere near as bad as its box office returns may suggest, Belloni opined that David Ellison no doubt viewed the failure of “Supergirl” as a result of Gunn and Safran being given too much creative power. Hence, that simply won’t be the case with Ellison now in charge.

This also means that while Jeremy Latcham is replacing the former DC Studios co-bosses, he will have nowhere near as much freedom and instead report only to Skydance studio heads Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein. Depending on how you felt about Gunn’s creative decisions, then, this is either a good or disappointing development. But even if you like the idea of Ellison and his studio heads calling the shots and keeping DC on a tight leash, none of this bodes well for the brand’s cinematic fortunes moving forward — especially if Ellison and co. really do intend to discard Gunn’s entire DC roadmap and start from scratch.

When James Gunn and Peter Safran were appointed co-heads of DC Studios, the franchise desperately needed a hard reset. A string of flops in 2023, which included the box office bomb of superheroic proportions that was “The Flash” (a movie which, as it happens, Gunn once called “probably one of the greatest superhero movies ever made”), marked an ignoble end for the DC Extended Universe, and it was Gunn’s job to reset, regroup, and revitalize the entire thing. Instead, he opted for a soft reboot that retained several elements of the DCEU. Even at the time, it seemed misguided, and it feels like all the more of a misstep in hindsight.

Now, David Ellison and his executives are, according to Puck, rebooting the entire thing. But it seems like it’s all too late. Audiences were never going to be won over by animated “Creature Commandos” series or a potential Mister Miracle animated show. By all means, take a few risks, but maybe save them for after DC has regained some respect among mainstream viewers. Instead, we’re at a point where the whole thing is being scrapped yet again, and most people simply do not care about these behind the scenes developments. They just want good movies (which, at this point, have been in short supply).

As Matthew Belloni observed in his report, the last decade has really “only solidified Kevin Feige’s run at Marvel (Studios) as all the more remarkable” when compared to DC’s struggles. Of course, with Jeremy Latcham having spent many years as a Marvel Studios producer, there’s a chance he might turn things around. But by now, audiences are surely tired of having to keep up with these reboots, soft or otherwise.