James Gunn and Peter Safran are out at DC Studios, and a Marvel guy is taking over
In the biggest Hollywood power move of the year, Skydance just handed DC's entire superhero empire to Jeremy Latcham, the exec who helped Kevin Feige build the MCU from scratch.
In brief
James Gunn and Peter Safran are out at DC Studios, and a Marvel guy is taking over
Four years. That is how long James Gunn and Peter Safran ran DC Studios before Skydance pulled the plug Monday morning. By 9:15 a.m. Pacific, the trades had the story, the fan forums were on fire, and the question everyone in Hollywood was asking was the same one DC fans have been asking for a decade: so now what?
Variety was first with the news that Gunn and Safran are stepping down as CEOs and chairmen of DC Studios, and they will be replaced by Jeremy Latcham, who will serve as president and chief creative officer. The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that Skydance has appointed Latcham to the post of president and chief creative officer of DC Studios. Both departures are effective December 1.
Gunn did not go quietly. He posted a statement to social media after the announcement, saying "What only the closest people to me have known over the past four years is my time at DC Studios has been trying, to say the least." Rolling Stone noted that Gunn praised the "talented and wonderful people" he worked with during his DC tenure but acknowledged that running DC Studios had often been "trying," as he juggled creative projects with the demands of a corporate job.
Safran is out too, fully. After four years of leading DC's creative direction, Gunn and Safran will return to full-time filmmaking and storytelling. Per The Wrap, Skydance says the duo will "return full time to their creative work," which includes post-production on the Superman sequel Man of Tomorrow and work on other DC projects.
So who is Jeremy Latcham?
If the name does not ring a bell outside of industry circles, it should. Latcham, a Marvel veteran whose credits include Iron Man, Guardians of the Galaxy, Spider-Man: Homecoming and The Avengers, will lead DC's film, television and animation slate. He was associate producer on Iron Man, co-producer on Iron Man 2, and executive producer on The Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Age of Ultron and Spider-Man: Homecoming.
He is not a stranger to Gunn, either. Latcham also worked with Gunn and Safran on their Guardians of the Galaxy. After leaving Marvel in 2017, he departed to set up Latcham Pictures, producing films including Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves and Bad Times at the El Royale. Good films. Neither one was a superhero franchise. This is a different assignment entirely.
The Associated Press reported that Latcham said in a statement: "I've had the privilege to help bring some of the most celebrated superhero stories to life on the big screen, and I'm excited and honored for the opportunity to now lead DC Studios into its next era."
Skydance chairman David Ellison, whose company completed its merger with the entity formerly known as Warner Bros. Discovery in October, was effusive. Ellison said he "can't wait to see the stories he'll bring to life, and how he'll help build the future of DC for fans everywhere."
What happens to Batman, Wonder Woman, and the whole slate?
This is the question. The honest answer is: nobody fully knows yet. A long pipeline of projects already in production ensures that Gunn and Safran's fingerprints will be on DC for a while to come. Gunn is currently in post-production on the Superman follow-up, Man of Tomorrow. Other upcoming releases include the series The People v. Gorilla Grodd and The Batman Part II.
The Wall Street Journal's Ben Fritz filled in a key detail Monday afternoon: Gunn and Safran had hoped to introduce the DCU's Batman in The Brave and the Bold in 2028, and they were aiming for Gunn-directed Superman sequels in 2029 and 2031 that would quietly evolve into Justice League movies. One of Latcham's first challenges is deciding whether to scrap the Gunn and Safran road map or use parts of it, with their plans stretching into the 2030s.
Gizmodo flagged the murkier question underneath all of this. Latcham will almost certainly want to make a Batman movie, and there is one in production right now called The Batman Part II. The question is whether that could retroactively change, making Robert Pattinson's Batman the DC Universe Batman. Gunn had kept Pattinson's Gotham in a separate lane from his DCU. Latcham inherited the keys. He gets to decide what stays in its lane and what does not.
Culture.org noted that Variety said Latcham is likely to keep David Corenswet as Superman, given the character's place at the front of the new universe. And Man of Tomorrow, the sequel to 2025's Superman, is still scheduled to open July 9, 2027. That clock does not stop just because the boss changed.
Why this matters beyond superhero fandom
The timing is not accidental. Gunn and Safran had retained their leadership of DC Studios after Paramount Skydance acquired Warner Bros. Discovery in October 2026 to form the Skydance Corporation. Industry observers widely assumed Ellison would keep them in place. He did not.
What Ellison has done instead is hand the most valuable comic book IP portfolio outside of Marvel to a man who built the original MCU machine alongside Kevin Feige, then spent almost a decade away from capes entirely. Latcham said in a statement that "DC's pantheon of characters is among the most iconic in American popular culture." That is true. It is also a studio that has been reset, restructured, and re-explained to audiences approximately four times in the last ten years. Latcham's first real job is making sure there is not a fifth.
Gunn and Safran, for their part, are not bitter on the record. The pair said in a joint statement: "We've shared a creative history with Jeremy going back to Marvel, and we're eager to see the perspective he brings to DC's next chapter." Gunn is already deep in post on Man of Tomorrow. Somewhere on a Warner Bros. lot, editors are cutting what may be the last film he will ever make for a studio he technically no longer runs.
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CAN I KICK IT? screens New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument, on Aug. 22. (Courtesy SHAOLIN JAZZ)
The live-cinema series CAN I KICK IT? returns to the National Mall this month with what its producers are calling the "Gangsters on the Mall" chapter of their free outdoor summer run. On Saturday, August 22, the SHAOLIN JAZZ production brings the 1991 crime classic New Jack City to the Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument for a night of film, music, and community under the DC summer sky.
What sets the event apart is the sound. As the film plays, DJ 2-Tone Jones builds an original score in real time, reimagining one of the most iconic crime movies of the ’90s through hip-hop, soul, funk, and more. It is less a movie screening than a live performance built around the film.
The details:
Film: New Jack City (1991), with a live soundtrack by DJ 2-Tone Jones
When: Saturday, August 22 — seating opens at 7:30 p.m. (bring lawn chairs and blankets); film begins at 8:30 p.m.
Where: Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument, Independence Ave SW & 15th St NW
A parking note from the organizers: expect road closures and restricted parking east of 14th Street NW due to a separate race event in the District. Roads west of 14th Street NW will be accessible and available for parking.
New Jack City is the second of three screenings in this year’s free CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series, which opened with Black Panther at Skyland Town Center and concludes with Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial on September 5. Produced by the Washington, DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, the series has presented more than 150 live cinematic experiences at venues across the country, from Lincoln Center to SXSW.
"I wanted to be able to tell good stories with substance and remove the ‘ego’ out of the art," said Andrew Huang during a recent interview. Now, he’s building his career at the intersection of discipline, creativity and innovation.
Andrew Huang, founder of New Place Studios. (Courtesy photo)
As a Chinese American, Huang was reared with a deep respect for hard work, consistency and excellence. He describes his childhood as "not so affluent" and later attended college to hone his passion for videography. "In college I tried to do something I loved, which was video, but along the way I knew that I had to find a job. And so I thought, ‘what was the low hanging fruit to get to that stable 9 to 5 job?,’" he stated.
Later in life, Huang found himself working for corporations where his creativity was often limited, eventually leading to burnout. "I worked in a corporation for a long time and there were a lot of missing pieces. I wanted to fill in gaps missing in corporate video production," said Huang.
He later described how his upbringing and a mindset of "survival" led him toward a corporate career. However, his desire for balance and authentic storytelling ultimately pushed him to take the entrepreneurial leap.
"I founded a new place where you can create video and film with ‘substance and style,’" said Huang. His desire for work-life balance and passion for storytelling naturally evolved into a small business based in Virginia. With the launch of New Place Studios, the entrepreneur quickly found himself reconnecting with the values that would become the foundation of everything he creates behind the camera.
Huang said being a business owner has allowed him to first embrace himself. While others may see video as simply capturing moments, he sees it as a way to preserve stories that inspire, connect and leave a lasting imprint.
By combining cinematic visuals with cutting-edge production techniques and a keen understanding of branding, Huang helps organizations and individuals communicate their vision with purpose. He said understanding a client’s "why" serves as the compass for delivering the services they need.
One benefit of working with a small business, he said, is that clients get to see the production process unfold through a micro lens while working with the same faces throughout the entire project. "The work feels personal," said Huang.
Huang does not regret leaving behind the flash-over-substance mentality and corporate hustle culture. That does not mean the Asian American entrepreneur has been without challenges in the industry. "It’s relatively hard to find other Asian American creatives or people who would want to work with me in the DMV," said Huang.
He identifies the industry culture in which everyone is trying to blend in, creatives may fear displaying their Asian identity and some feel pressure to adopt an American corporate persona. He also points to what he describes as a level of gatekeeping within the industry. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2024 statistics, Asian American and Pacific Islander entrepreneurs own more than 3 million businesses and employ 5.2 million people in the United States.
After tapping into organizations such as SCORE, which offers free small business mentorship, New Place Studios has become a trusted creative partner throughout the DMV (Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia). The company produces a range of creative services, including commercials, corporate branding, documentaries, film, 2D animation, motion graphics and photography.
For Huang, entrepreneurship has become more than a departure from corporate life. It has given him the freedom to create with intention, build meaningful connections and tell stories that go beyond the surface.
The 2026 CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
For three Saturdays this summer, some of Washington’s most familiar public spaces will do something they rarely do after dark: fill up with blankets, lawn chairs, and the sound of a movie being scored live, in real time. CAN I KICK IT?, the traveling “live cinema” series produced by the DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, is bringing a free outdoor run to the city — pairing three era-defining films with an original soundtrack performed on the spot by DJ 2-Tone Jones.
The premise is what sets it apart from a normal screening in the park. Rather than simply pressing play, 2-Tone Jones builds a score as the film unfolds, pulling from hip-hop, soul, funk, jazz, rock, electronic music, and sounds from around the world. The result, the organizers say, is less a movie night than a one-time performance — the same film you know, wired to a soundtrack you have never heard and will not hear again. Guest DJs warm up the crowd starting at 7:30 PM before each 8:30 PM screening.
The 2026 outdoor schedule
All three events are free and open to the public.
Saturday, August 8 — Black Panther at Skyland Town Center. A pop-up marketplace and community activities kick off the evening; guest DJs at 7:30 PM, film at 8:30 PM. Marvel’s superhero epic gets a one-night-only live score in Southeast DC.
Saturday, August 22 — New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument. Seating begins at 7:30 PM; the film starts at 8:30 PM. The 1991 crime drama plays out at the foot of one of the country’s most recognizable landmarks.
Saturday, September 5 — Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial. Seating at 7:30 PM; film at 8:30 PM. The series closes with Brian De Palma’s crime saga against the backdrop of the Memorial, scored live from start to finish.
First up: Black Panther at Skyland Town Center on August 8. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
A DC company with a national footprint
SHAOLIN JAZZ describes itself as a Washington-based arts company working at the intersection of music, film, art, and culture, and CAN I KICK IT? is its signature production. According to the organizers, the series has staged more than 150 live cinematic experiences around the country — at performing arts centers, museums, festivals, and cultural institutions including Lincoln Center in New York, SXSW, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Republic Square in Austin, the Tacoma Armory, and The Cary Theater.
“CAN I KICK IT? has always been about creating a shared experience,” said Gerald Watson, co-founder of SHAOLIN JAZZ. “When you combine iconic films with live music in public spaces, something special happens. People aren’t just watching a movie — they’re experiencing it together. That’s what makes these nights so memorable.”
Cinema as a community event
The DC run lands as cities across the country look for new ways to activate public space through arts and culture — and this series is a straightforward pitch for how to do it: take a landmark everyone already knows, add a film everyone has an opinion about, and let a live soundtrack turn the evening into something neighbors experience shoulder to shoulder. Families, film buffs, and music fans are all invited, and admission won’t cost a thing.
The CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series runs August 8, August 22, and September 5. All events are free; check SHAOLIN JAZZ (shaolinjazz.com) for the latest details and any weather updates before heading out.
