The search for new DC Universe executives is over.
“The Suicide Squad” director James Gunn and producer Peter Safran will serve as co-chairmen and CEOs for the film, TV and animation division of DC Studios, a newly formed Warner Bros. sector that will replace DC Films.
The unexpected picks conclude a months-long search by Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav to replace DC Films boss Walter Hamada, who left the studio last week.
Effective Nov. 1, Gunn and Safran will report to Zaslav and work closely with Warners film bosses Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy.
Gunn and Safran have extensive experience with the superhero genre, having brought some of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and DC Universe’s most popular characters to life in hit films and series such as Marvel’s blockbuster “Guardians of the Galaxy,” and DC’s highest grossing movie, “Aquaman,” “Shazam!,” “The Suicide Squad,” and HBO Max‘s live-action series, “Peacemaker.”
Prior to the new hires, De Luca and Abdy were in charge of creative decisions for the DC franchise, including those related to the controversial Ezra Miller’s “The Flash” and “Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom.”
But now, Gunn will focus on the creative while Safran oversees the business and production sides of DC Studios. They are both expected to keep directing and producing projects, respectively.
“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 obtained by The Post. “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,” the pair added.
Last week, The Hollywood Reporter said the script for “The Flash 2” is already ready from “Aquaman” scribe David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick in case the first movie does well, despite Miller’s legal troubles.
“We could not be more excited to have James Gunn and Peter Safran join the team and assume the leadership of the DC Universe,” De Luca and Abdy said in a statement. “James is a brilliant filmmaker and storyteller and Peter is a tremendously successful and prolific producer and to have them both committing to work together to forge this new era for DC is a literal dream come true.
“We all share a very similar sensibility and passion for this universe and the stars couldn’t have aligned any better. We can’t wait to get started, dig in, and collaborate with these unmatched creative minds,” they added.