Director James Gunn and Producer Peter Safran to Oversee DC Movies and TV

(L to R) Director James Gunn and actress Jennifer Holland at the World Premiere of 'Thor: Ragnarok.'

Big news breaking today: James Gunn, the filmmaker behind movies such as the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ franchise and ‘The Suicide Squad’ has been appointed to an arm of Warner Bros. Discovery to oversee the studio’s DC movies and TV output.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Gunn and regular producing partner Peter Safran will start work at what is now called DC Studios on November 1st, reporting to Warner Bros. Discovery head David Zaslav and working closely with film chiefs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy. Gunn has since confirmed the news via Twitter.

DC Studios will oversee much of the company’s comics-based movies and TV on the live-action and animated fronts.

There are exceptions, however – the Reporter’s story mentions that Todd Phillips’ upcoming ‘Joker’ sequel, called 'Joker: Folie a Deux’, will not fall under the pair’s purview, and whether Matt Reeves’ expanding universe of ‘The Batman’ will either is unknown. Their stories exist outside the main DC movie and TV universe.

It’s a giant switch for Gunn, who commits himself completely to DC for the next four years under the initial deal. Which means that once ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ is released next May, he won’t be making anything else at Marvel for the foreseeable future. (It’s a little ironic that the trailer for his other new Marvel project, the ‘Guardians’ Holiday Special,' also dropped today).

But Gunn will also still be making movies and TV series, even if he’ll be spending the rest of his time shepherding other filmmakers’ work in an executive capacity. Producer Safran, meanwhile, will handle the business end of figuring out the future of the DC universe, including budgets and contracts.

The writer and director, who came up through Troma Studios, has enjoyed a healthy career through indie genre movies such as ‘Slither’ and ‘Super’ and as a writer on the bigger budget likes of the ‘Scooby Doo’ movies and Zack Snyder’s ‘Dawn of the Dead’ reboot.

Yet he truly found success with Marvel after ‘Guardians of the Galaxy' in 2014 proved that the company, with the right filmmaker, could take seemingly obscure characters and turn them in pop cultural behemoths.

He also became creatively involved in helping with other Marvel titles and would go on direct’ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ in 2017.

There was a worrying blip for the filmmaker in 2018 when he was fired from ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ over offensive old tweets of his that had surfaced online. Still, after some atonement, he was invited back – and made projects for DC in the meantime.

(L to R) Director James Gunn, Michael Rooker, and Sean Gunn on the set of 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.'

Safran might not be as well known to movie fans, but he’s certainly had an influence as producer on some giant projects. Previously a manager (Gunn was one of his clients, which is how they connected), he turned to producing and has been behind the scenes on plenty of Warner Bros. properties, including the huge ‘Conjuring’ franchise with James Wan and working with Wan on the ‘Aquaman’ movies.

Together, the pair feel like the right choice to help run DC’s movies and TV going forward – Gunn has shown a keen eye for what works with audiences, both those who know and love and source material and those who wouldn’t know Groot from the Giving Tree. He’s respected by other filmmakers and by actors, who appreciate his collaborative style.

Safran, meanwhile, has been seen as a champion of directors and movies, a cineaste who puts creativity over cold business decisions (but isn’t afraid to make tough calls) and who is always happy to promote the films he’s worked on without ever making it about himself.

The Warner Bros. team must also be pleased, aiming to put a recent period of chaos behind them. Zaslav’s arrival at the studio following the merger with Discovery has been one of cost-cutting and job losses, and cancelling or shelving movies that were in post-production (such as ‘Batgirl') have been far from popular moves.

Walter Hamada, who previously ran what was known as DC Films, grew increasingly unhappy with the corporate moves and intrusion into the creative side from people who had never made movies or TV, opted to leave earlier this year, but was persuaded to stay until ‘Black Adam’ was released this past weekend.

And knowing that he was leaving, the Warners team had been looking to line up a replacement, eager to find someone who could do for DC what Kevin Feige has done for Disney’s Marvel arm. Though one or two directors were quietly approached, the front-runner was said to be producer Dan Lin, who has worked extensively with Warner Bros.

Yet despite talks, Lin opted to stay with his own production company rather than pick up the tricky job of running a studio arm. Gunn and Safran had been seen meeting with De Luca, but reports had it that they were just looking to make more DC Movies. As it turns out, they were being courted to take over.

“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 Zaslav 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.”

“We’re honored to be the stewards of these DC characters we’ve loved since we were children,” Gunn and Safran said in a statement. “We look forward to collaborating with the most talented writers, directors, and actors in the world to create an integrated, multilayered universe that still allows for the individual expression of the artists involved. 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.”