James Gunn and Peter Safran Reportedly Keep Their DC Thrones After Paramount Merger, but There’s a Catch

Running a superhero universe while your parent company is being sold is a high-wire act, and the future of James Gunn and Peter Safran at DC Studios has hung over the DCU for months. The duo has served as DC Studios co-CEOs since November 2022, and every merger headline has revived the same question. Fans have wondered whether the architects of the DCU would survive a change in ownership.

Their record has been a roller coaster. ‘Superman’ earned roughly $618 million worldwide last year, then ‘Supergirl’ stumbled badly. The film opened to $37.1 million domestically and finished with $126.4 million globally against a budget of about $170 million.

Now there is an answer, at least for the short term. According to Puck, Gunn and Safran will be invited to stay on at DC after the Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery merger closes. The $110 billion deal is expected to finalize on Tuesday, Oct. 6, and the parties involved have reportedly declined to comment.

The same reporting says Warner Bros. film chiefs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy are on their way out. Paramount film heads Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein are expected to oversee both movie studios. That makes Gunn and Safran the notable survivors of the leadership shake-up.

The news fits earlier signals. In August, an insider told TheWrap that Paramount had no plans to replace the pair, and DC Studios executive producer Lars P. Winther said Paramount CEO David Ellison had met with them. Bloomberg also reported last year that Ellison wanted to keep the creative teams of both studios intact.

The caveat matters. Gunn’s contract reportedly expires in 2027, right after ‘Man of Tomorrow,’ and Cosmic Book News insiders say no new extension is in place. Those same insiders expect a honeymoon period of three to six months at the merged company before any changes arrive.

‘Man of Tomorrow’ opens July 9, 2027, with Gunn writing and directing. One analysis calls it the make-or-break moment for the duo, arguing that if it outgrosses ‘Superman,’ Paramount would have every reason to keep them aboard. If it stumbles, the new leadership could take DC in a different direction.

The momentum isn’t all negative. ‘Supergirl’ drew 304 million minutes viewed on Nielsen’s streaming chart in its first four days on HBO Max, which helped it reach No. 1 on the platform. The HBO series ‘Lanterns’ pulled 525 million minutes in the same week, and a second season of ‘Creature Commandos’ is expected next year.

The theatrical calendar is next. ‘Clayface’ arrives on Oct. 23 as the final DCU release of 2026, with a reported budget of around $40 million. ‘The Brave and the Bold,’ the DCU’s Batman reboot with Andy Muschietti attached, still has no release date.

Matt Reeves’ ‘The Batman Part II,’ set in the separate Elseworlds continuity, is scheduled for Feb. 18, 2028. Gunn has also said Batman won’t appear in ‘Man of Tomorrow.’ With so many pieces in motion, a sudden leadership change would force the franchise to restart again just a few years after the last reboot.

For now, the DCU’s captains appear safe, but the clock is ticking on 2027.

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