Ellison Was Reportedly Courting Jeremy Latcham for DC Studios Before the Warner Bros. Merger Even Closed

Corporate takeovers tend to come with reassuring words about continuity, and the merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. was no exception. Early reports suggested that the leaders of DC Studios would be left alone to carry on with their plans. A new report now suggests the story behind the scenes was far more complicated.

The public picture changed on Nov. 9, when DC Studios announced that James Gunn and Peter Safran were stepping down as co-CEOs. Jeremy Latcham, a Marvel Studios veteran, was named president and chief creative officer, and he takes over on Dec. 1. Skydance CEO David Ellison and co-CEO Ynon Kreiz praised the outgoing pair in a statement.

According to insiders cited by TheWrap, Ellison was in quiet talks with Latcham about taking over DC more than a month ago. Those conversations reportedly took place before the Paramount and Warner Bros. merger closed on Oct. 6. The shake-up itself came 33 days after Skydance took control of the studio.

That timeline sits uneasily next to what was said publicly in early October. Deadline reported that Gunn and Safran had met with Ellison about their future and that the meeting went well. Other reports at the time described Ellison telling them to keep going, though with no new deal attached.

At a Skydance press event marking the completion of the merger on Oct. 6, Safran was present. Gunn was also listed prominently as part of the executive leadership team.

Safran later told IGN that the studio’s plans had not changed since Skydance took over, and that Ellison had been complimentary and focused on giving DC the resources to continue as planned. He also noted that the deal was only a week old at the time of the interview. That message of continuity now reads very differently.

Three insiders told TheWrap that Gunn and Safran were blindsided and learned of the decision less than 24 hours before the announcement. A fourth insider disputed that account and said they were told on Friday. Skydance declined to comment beyond the statements made when the change was announced.

One insider pointed to remarks Ellison made at a Skydance employee town hall, saying the company was not there to preserve the status quo. The same source framed the decision as part of a push to chart a new direction. Skydance has also been seeking dependable theatrical hits as it works toward a goal of 30 films a year while carrying significant debt.

The numbers from the Gunn and Safran era were mixed. ‘Superman’ grossed $618 million worldwide, but ‘Supergirl’ was a disappointment at $126 million, and reports described creative tension between Gunn and director Craig Gillespie. ‘Clayface’, the third film in the ‘Gods and Monsters’ chapter, opened about 2 weeks before the exit and had earned $109 million worldwide through 3 weekends on a $40 million budget.

Gunn did not mention ‘Supergirl’ in his farewell message.

Latcham was part of Marvel Studios’ founding core under Kevin Feige. His credits include ‘Iron Man’, ‘The Avengers’, the Tom Holland ‘Spider-Man’ films and ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’, and he was part of the creative group behind ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ and ‘Avengers: Endgame’. He left Marvel in 2017 for a production deal at 20th Century Fox.

As an independent producer, he made ‘Bad Times at El Royale’, which grossed $32 million worldwide, and ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ for Paramount. His most recent credit is Nate Bargatze’s ‘The Breadwinner’ for Sony. Unlike Gunn and Safran, who reported to Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav, he will report to Skydance film chiefs Josh Greenstein and Dana Goldberg.

Analysts quoted in the report describe Latcham as less creatively demanding than Gunn, which could make him easier to work with as an executive. He is also expected to keep a low social media profile in the Feige mold, and he deleted his X posts and locked his account before the announcement. Ellison reportedly wants him to bring the Justice League back to the big screen quickly, with films for Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and The Flash.

Whether that plan succeeds will take years to show, but the timeline of how Latcham got the job is already feeding a lot of debate.

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