LOS ANGELES — Warner Bros. Discovery has found its leaders for the DC film and television universe.
The company on Tuesday named filmmakers James Gunn and Peter Safran as co-chairmen and chief executive officers of DC Studios, where they will oversee the creative direction of the superhero franchise productions in film, television and animation.
They will report directly to Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, who has promised investors a 10-year plan modeled on Walt Disney Co.'s successful Marvel Studios strategy.
Gunn and Safran both have experience in with DC material.
Gunn directed 2021's DC feature "The Suicide Squad," the irreverent R-rated film about a special team of villains working for a shadowy government agency. He also created the HBO Max spinoff series "Peacemaker," based on a character from "The Suicide Squad."
In an unusual situation, Gunn has also directed movies for rival Marvel, the highly successful "Guardians of the Galaxy" films. Just Tuesday, Gunn released a trailer for a "Guardians of the Galaxy" holiday special produced for Disney+.
Safran was a producer on Warner Bros. and New Line's "Conjuring" movies, plus DC installments "Aquaman","Shazam!" and "The Suicide Squad."
The duo will work alongside Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy, who were recently named co-chairpersons and CEOs of Warner Bros. Film Group, overseeing non-superhero live action movies.
DC boasts some of the best-known superheroes — Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman — but has not always lived up to its potential, playing an underdog to Disney and Marvel in the last decade.
The most recent release, "Black Adam," starring Dwayne Johnson as the titular antihero, opened with a solid $67 million in box office from the U.S. and Canada last weekend and heralded the return of Henry Cavill to the role of Superman.
The announcement ends speculation over who would replace Walter Hamada, who previously shepherded DC superhero films for the Burbank studio.
During the last several years, DC produced hits including "Aquaman," "Shazam," "Joker" and "The Batman." "Birds of Prey" disappointed at the box office and "The Suicide Squad" and "Wonder Woman 1984" were hobbled by being simultaneously released on HBO Max.
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