Report: Skydance Axed Gunn and Safran Over ‘Supergirl’ Disaster and a ‘Superman’ Win It Called Not Good Enough

Hollywood loves a power shift, but few have landed as suddenly as the one at DC Studios. James Gunn and Peter Safran spent 4 years rebuilding the superhero brand, and they appeared to be among the safest executives on the Warner Bros. lot.

They had survived a merger that cost celebrated studio heads Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy their jobs. They were basking in the modest success of ‘Clayface’, and there was even talk of doing more spooky, slimmed-down DC movies.

Then the ground shifted. According to a new report, one of the reasons Skydance replaced Gunn and Safran came down to the box office, with ‘Supergirl’ viewed as a disaster and even ‘Superman’ falling short of what the new regime wanted.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Skydance co-CEOs David Ellison and Ynon Kreiz arrived at Gunn and Safran’s offices in Burbank on Friday, Nov. 6. The DC heads were told that, despite earlier assurances they would be part of the new Skydance studio, the plan had changed.

Gunn and Safran had reportedly been plotting a third ‘Superman‘ movie and thought they were safe. Their replacement is Jeremy Latcham, a producer who was once a key member of Marvel Studios’ executive team before moving to Texas to go independent. He takes over on Dec. 1 and will report to Skydance film executives Josh Greenstein and Dana Goldberg.

In the eyes of the new regime, the DC films released so far had not been great for business, and ‘Supergirl’ was just a disaster. The numbers are hard to argue with. The film opened to $37.1 million domestically on June 26 and $62.6 million worldwide.

It finished with roughly $126 million globally against a production budget of $170 million, with reports pointing to as much as $186 million. Warner Bros. also reportedly spent around $120 million on marketing, and some estimates put the studio’s loss near $200 million.

Box Office Mojo data cited by one outlet makes ‘Supergirl‘ the lowest-grossing modern DC film at the global box office, trailing both ‘Blue Beetle’ and ‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’. After its opening, Safran said the movie didn’t meet expectations but was only one piece of a broader, long-term strategy at DC Studios.

The more surprising detail involves Gunn’s own film. ‘Superman’ grossed $618 million worldwide and was profitable, yet the report says it did not net out, or have the kind of “pop culture impact,” that a movie of that kind should, in Skydance’s thinking.

That is a high bar. The film carried a budget of roughly $225 million, and before its release Gunn pushed back on the idea that ‘Superman’ would be a flop if it failed to reach $700 million. He told GQ that the film did not need to be as big as people were claiming.

The result shows how differently the studios measure success. A film can earn $618 million and still be judged against the cultural footprint of a franchise starter.

Box office was not the only factor. Sources point to several points of tension between Gunn and Safran and Skydance’s Greenstein and Goldberg, who are trying to consolidate all production of motion pictures under their leadership.

Before Skydance’s acquisition, Gunn and Safran reported directly to Warner Bros. One insider also said the duo were used to having strong control over DC’s film, television and animation projects, which set up some chafing under the new structure.

The final trailer for ‘SUPERGIRL’ has been released. • Tickets on sale now • In theaters on June 26 https://t.co/hiTkG52C3T

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) June 3, 2026

It remains unclear whether Gunn will get the chance to finish his vision for Superman, let alone the full DC slate he and Safran announced with great fanfare in 2022. Some saw that slate as only just barely revving up.

Gunn does have ‘Man of Tomorrow’ in post-production for a July 9, 2027 release, and he and Safran remain producers on ‘The Batman Part II’. How Latcham handles those inherited projects, along with the horror-leaning experiment that ‘Clayface’ represented, will define the next chapter.

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