James Gunn Out at DC: What's Confirmed, What's Rumour

I was born in 1971, and I saw Superman in the cinema in 1978 with my maternal uncle. For me, Superman is Christopher Reeve.

On 9 November 2026, Skydance announced that James Gunn and Peter Safran will leave their posts as co-chief executives of DC Studios. Jeremy Latcham, a former Marvel Studios producer, takes over as president and chief creative officer on 1 December. In the days since, rumours have moved faster than the official record. This article separates what the studio and the trades have confirmed from what is still only rumour, and from my own opinions, which I will mark as such.

Is James Gunn Leaving DC Studios?

Yes. James Gunn and Peter Safran are leaving their jobs as co-chief executives of DC Studios, effective 1 December 2026. Skydance announced the change on 9 November. The official language is that they will "step away from their leadership roles" and "return full time to their creative work." Variety described the move as a firing. Marvel veteran Jeremy Latcham will serve as president and chief creative officer, reporting to Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein, co-chairs of the Skydance Motion Picture Group.

What Skydance Announced on 9 November, and Who Jeremy Latcham Is

The studio's statement presents the change as a transition, not a rupture. David Ellison, Skydance's chairman and chief executive, and co-chief executive Ynon Kreiz said Gunn and Safran "launched a new era for DC Studios and led it through a period of real transformation, resetting the foundation and building a slate we're incredibly proud of." They called Latcham "a longtime creative partner to both" and said they looked forward to working with him "to build the next generation of DC storytelling."

Latcham is not a household name in the way Gunn has become, but he is a known quantity inside comic-book production. He joined Marvel Studios in 2004 and later served as senior vice president of production and development, working closely with Kevin Feige as the Marvel Cinematic Universe was launched. The Skydance release lists credits including Iron Man, Iron Man 2, The Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Age of Ultron and Spider-Man: Homecoming. He and Gunn already share a history: Latcham was among the Marvel producers on the first Guardians of the Galaxy, the film that made Gunn a studio-level director. After leaving Marvel in 2017, Latcham worked as an independent producer. From 1 December he will oversee DC's film, television and animation slate, and he will report to Goldberg and Greenstein rather than to Ellison directly.

In a joint statement, Gunn and Safran said they were "excited to return to what drew us to this job in the first place, which is telling the stories we love, including the next chapter of Clark and Lex's journey in Man of Tomorrow." That sequel, which Gunn is writing and directing and which the two men are producing, is in post-production and is still dated by Skydance for a theatrical release on 9 July 2027. They also remain producers on The Batman Part II, now shooting, and executive producers of the 2027 series The People v. Gorilla Grodd, which has finished filming.

Is Man of Tomorrow Going Straight to Streaming?

Not on the official record. As of 9 November 2026, Skydance still dates Man of Tomorrow — written and directed by James Gunn, and now in post-production — for a theatrical release on 9 July 2027. Gunn, in the statement he posted that same day, said, "We have Man of Tomorrow out this summer." Talk of a straight-to-digital or Max/Paramount+ release began two days later, on 11 November, on a rumour site and on social media. No story in Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, The Wrap or Puck has confirmed a change of plan.

The Official Date: Theatres, 9 July 2027

The date is not new, and it has not been withdrawn. In September 2025, after the first film's release, Gunn announced that the sequel would be called Man of Tomorrow and would "hit theaters on July 9, 2027," as Variety reported at the time. Fourteen months later, in the same 9 November announcement that changed the leadership of DC Studios, Skydance restated the plan almost unchanged: the film "is currently in post-production and will arrive in theaters July 9, 2027." Officially, it "continues the story of Clark Kent/Superman and Lex Luthor."

The shoot is finished. Variety has reported that production wrapped in late August 2026. The Hollywood Reporter, in its 9 November account, also described the film as wrapped and still "heading for a July 2027 release." David Corenswet and Nicholas Hoult, the first film's Superman and Lex Luthor, are the characters named in that official synopsis. Other returning or new faces have been reported by the trades; they are not in the Skydance release, and I will not treat those reports as if they were. What matters for the release question is simpler: principal photography is done, the film is in post, and the new owners have so far repeated the theatrical date, not retracted it. Deadline, publishing Gunn's "out this summer" statement, restated 9 July 2027 as a theatrical date in the same piece.

Where the Streaming Rumour Started

The streaming talk is a rumour, and it is a very recent one. On 11 November 2026, two days after the leadership change, the comic-news site Cosmic Book News published an "exclusive" citing an unnamed "Skydance Paramount insider." According to that account, the insider had been told that night that "all options are on the table" for the 9 July 2027 theatrical date, "and everything short of it." An update on the same piece said those options included selling the movie, putting it on streaming, or cancelling the release. The site is not a major trade, and it named no on-the-record executive.

The same day, columnist Dan Marcus, host of The Film Frontier, posted that a friend had predicted Man of Tomorrow "might just get dumped on the new HBO MAX/Paramount Plus streaming platform," adding, "I hate to say it, but I think he could be right." That is a public prediction, not a studio announcement. Cosmic Book News quoted the post and treated it as in line with its unnamed source. None of that is a confirmed change of distribution plans.

It is fair to say why the rumour found oxygen. The film is now in post-production under a new regime, and talk about cost and final cut often starts when heads are replaced mid-stream. Cosmic Book News also made further, unsourced claims about the budget, likely losses, and the plot. I am not repeating those claims here, because the trades have not confirmed them. A rumour that "all options are on the table" is worth reporting as a rumour. It is not evidence that Skydance has pulled Man of Tomorrow from cinemas.

Is David Corenswet Still Superman?

In this film, yes. Man of Tomorrow has already been shot with David Corenswet as Clark Kent / Superman. No studio, and no one speaking for Corenswet, has announced a recast for the 2027 sequel. The official description still frames the movie as a continuation of his story with Hoult's Luthor. Whether he is signed for anything after this film is a different, unconfirmed question. Variety, in a 9 November overview of what Latcham inherits, asked whether "franchise stars like Corenswet stay on board, or will Latcham clean house to make room for a new vision?" That was a question, not an answer.

The recast talk that followed came from the same rumour circuit as the streaming story. Cosmic Book News, citing unnamed insiders, claimed that Corenswet's contract ends with Man of Tomorrow and that he is "out as Superman." No major trade has matched that report, and it does not take him out of a film that has already been photographed. He is Superman in Man of Tomorrow unless and until the studio says he is not.

The same announcement offered a brief scorecard of their four-year tenure. Superman (2025) "earned more than $618 million at the global box office." Clayface, released in late October 2026, had "grossed more than $109 million worldwide and counting" as of 9 November. What the release did not mention is the film between them. Variety has reported that Supergirl (2026) took about $126 million worldwide against a $170 million production budget, a result widely described as a flop and, in later reporting, as a factor in how the new regime judged the slate.

Fired, Stepped Down, or Both?

The press release says "step away." The trades have been blunter. Variety framed the departure as a firing, and a follow-up analysis on 10 November said Gunn and Safran "were dismissed from the top of the comic book empire." The distinction matters, because the pair had appeared to survive the larger corporate shock.

Paramount's acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery closed on 6 October 2026, and the combined company was renamed Skydance. Variety reported that Gunn and Safran's exit was unexpected in part because they "were named as part of David Ellison's business leadership team" when that deal closed. The Hollywood Reporter, in a 9 November account of the ouster, wrote that the two men were told they were out on Friday, 6 November, when Ellison and Kreiz came to their offices on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank. That was only a month after sources had told the same paper Ellison's message was to keep doing what they were doing. "David knows everything… he's been great with us," Gunn had told THR in October.

THR's sources also described a fight over reporting lines. Under David Zaslav at Warner Bros. Discovery, Gunn and Safran reported directly to the chief executive, an unusual arrangement. Their contracts, the paper reported, stipulated that kind of direct line in the event of a change of leadership. Ellison and Kreiz instead planned to place DC under Goldberg and Greenstein. "They were not about to get layered in the reporting structure," multiple sources told THR. Another point of tension, according to the same story, was that the DC chiefs were slow to share plans, slate details and footage with the new film leadership. One insider said the shuffle had been in the works since early autumn, after Greenstein reached out to Latcham, a colleague from Paramount's early Iron Man years and later from Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Money was part of the judgement. THR reported that, in the new regime's view, Supergirl was "just a disaster," and that even the profitable Superman "did not net out, or have the kind of pop culture impact, in the way that kind of movie should." Variety, citing sources, summed up the thinking as: they "spent big — and lost too much — on projects that just weren't resonating with audiences." Those are the views of people briefed on Skydance's thinking, not a box-office law. Gunn and Safran were hired in 2022 by Zaslav to reset DC after a run of disappointing films. Four years later, they are out of the executive suite and back, at least on paper, on the creative side of the same company.

What James Gunn Said: The Job Was "Trying"

Later on 9 November, Gunn posted a long personal statement, which Deadline published in full. He thanked the fans and the DC teams, and he called Safran "the smartest and most competent person I know." Then he said what, by his account, only people close to him had known:

"What only the closest people to me have known over the past four years is my time at DC Studios has been trying, to say the least. I dislike the at-times corporate nature of the job (thanks to Peter for taking the brunt of that)."

He wrote that he would miss "being the co-caretaker of these great characters," but that he was "also incredibly relieved and excited to get back to pure filmmaking." He was careful not to sound as if he were walking away from the characters themselves: "That's not to say Peter and I are immediately done with DC or superheroes. We have Man of Tomorrow out this summer. And we've just been engaged on another DC project which I'm writing, and we'll see where it goes after that. And, of course, the characters we set up will live on."

"Out this summer" means summer 2027. The extra project is not dated, and it will be Latcham's decision whether it moves forward. "The characters we set up will live on" is Gunn's hope, not a studio guarantee that the universe he and Safran designed will continue unchanged. That is a later question, and I will treat it as rumour or report according to the source, not as a fact already settled on 9 November.

Is Steven Soderbergh Taking Over The Batman Part II?

Steven Soderbergh is finishing the last weeks of principal photography. Matt Reeves remains the director, and he is expected to oversee post-production. Filming paused in early October 2026 while Reeves attended to a family matter. On 15 October, the studio said Soderbergh had approached Reeves and would help complete the shoot; Reeves posted, "Just to be clear, I am not leaving The Batman Part II." The film is still dated 18 February 2028. This is a temporary assist, not a permanent replacement.

Why the Shoot Paused, and What Reeves, Soderbergh and the Studio Said

Principal photography on The Batman Part II, Reeves's sequel to his 2022 film with Robert Pattinson, had been under way since June 2026 when the work stopped. On 5 October, a DC Studios spokesperson said, in a statement first reported by Deadline and confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter: "Production on The Batman Part II has been temporarily paused while Matt Reeves focuses on a family matter. Matt has the full support of DC Studios and we look forward to continuing the journey soon." I will not speculate about that family matter.

Ten days later, on 15 October, Deadline and Variety reported that Soderbergh had offered to help finish the remaining weeks of shooting. The studio said: "As Matt Reeves continues to attend to an ongoing family matter, Steven Soderbergh, as an admirer of Matt's work, approached Matt and will step in, with the full support of DC Studios, to help the writer-director complete the final weeks of principal photography on The Batman Part 2. Matt and Steven will work closely together with the actors and crew to fulfill Matt's vision of the film."

Soderbergh put the same limit on the job: "I thought Matt Reeves' work on The Batman was stunning; it was intentional, specific, and rigorously coherent. The goal here is to work with Matt and his team to generate footage that will integrate seamlessly with what's already been shot so Matt can properly finish his film." Reeves posted the same day: "Just to be clear, I am not leaving The Batman Part II. I am profoundly grateful to Steven for coming to my aid during this challenging time to help me finish principal photography. Thank you to all for your concern and well wishes." THR added that the film was about two-thirds shot, with Soderbergh to work in London while Reeves operated from Los Angeles, then be more hands-on in post-production there.

James Gunn, then still co-head of DC Studios, was equally direct. As the Los Angeles Times reported on 16 October, he said: "Matt is still the director of The Batman 2 and always will be. I can't express how profoundly grateful and moved we are by Steven's offer to help him complete his vision." Late in October, Pattinson told GamesRadar, in remarks picked up by Deadline, that production was already back under way and that he was "starting in a couple of days." He called Soderbergh's offer "completely selfless."

Still Dated February 2028, and Still an Elseworlds Story

The release date has already moved more than once: it was later set for 1 October 2027, then for 18 February 2028. In mid-October the trades said it was too early to know whether the pause would move it again. As of Skydance's 9 November announcement, it had not: the film "is currently in production," with Soderbergh "finishing principal photography," and with Gunn and Safran still listed as producers.

It also remains separate from the DC Universe built around Superman. Reeves's Batman films, and the HBO series The Penguin, have been treated as Elseworlds: work that does not have to share actors or continuity with the main line. Variety has been clear that Pattinson's Batman is "completely separate." Under the previous leadership, a different Batman, in The Brave and the Bold, was the one planned to share a world with David Corenswet's Superman. Fans have long asked for Pattinson to cross over. Nobody at the new company has announced that he will, or that Reeves's continuity is ending.

A third film would close the trilogy Reeves has talked about. It has never been formally dated or officially greenlit. The sequel in production is real. The third film is still an ambition.

Why I Think Matt Reeves Deserves a Trilogy

I love Matt Reeves's The Batman. What I love in it is the detective aspect: Batman as an investigator, not only as a man in a suit who arrives to punch through a plot. I love the series The Penguin as well. I think Reeves deserves at least a trilogy, like Christopher Nolan.

I also have a theory of my own, and I want to be clear that it is my theory. It is not something the trades have reported, and it is not something Reeves or the studio have said. I think James Gunn put obstacles in front of Matt Reeves's Batman. The delays that are on the public record in 2026 are the long path to a start date, and the October pause so that Reeves could attend to a family matter, after which Soderbergh stepped in to help him finish the shoot. Those are the facts. The rest is my opinion.

Is Skydance Selling DC Comics?

No sale has been confirmed, and Skydance's own actions so far point toward keeping DC. Paramount's acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, reported at about $110 billion to $111 billion, closed on 6 October 2026; the combined company was renamed Skydance, and DC came with it. The claim that David Ellison wants to sell off the DC universe to cut merger debt comes from a 10 November gossip item, not from Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, The Wrap or Puck. Before the deal closed, sources in trade coverage described DC Comics as an "IP generator" the company would keep. On 9 November, Skydance named a new DC Studios chief and restated the theatrical slate.

What Closed in October

The corporate facts are not a sale of DC. After a long bidding period — Warner Bros. Discovery had first planned, in June 2025, to split studios and streaming from its cable networks — Paramount bought the whole company, including the film studio, HBO, the cable channels and DC. CNBC has called the closed deal a $110 billion acquisition; Variety has used $111 billion. The combined company, named Skydance, began trading on the New York Stock Exchange as SKYD, with Ellison as chairman and chief executive and Ynon Kreiz as co-chief executive.

Buying Warner Bros. Discovery meant buying DC, not shedding it. A day after the close, Variety published a memo from the new film co-chairs, Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein, saying that "DC Studios, New Line Cinema and Paramount Primal will continue as distinct labels with specific mandates." That is a statement about keeping the brand. A month later, when it replaced James Gunn and Peter Safran with Jeremy Latcham, Skydance also repeated that Man of Tomorrow was still dated for theatres and that The Batman Part II was still in production. Changing a division's leadership is not the same as selling it.

The 10 November Sale Rumour

The sale story is a rumour. On 10 November 2026, the gossip site Crazy Days and Nights — whose author, Enty, posts nameless blind items — ran a line that fan accounts then applied to DC: "The comic studio heads were fired. They didn't quit. Their boss wants to sell off the entire comic book universe to help get rid of some of that $100B debt." The firings were already public; a plan to sell "the entire comic book universe" was not. No major trade has confirmed that Ellison has put DC up for sale. The $100 billion debt figure in the blind item should be treated as unverified.

Comics Beat, writing about the same rumour, called a sale "a hard NOT TRUE" on the evidence then available, and reminded readers that Enty has a poor record as a source. That is not an official denial from Skydance. A different kind of hearsay came from the cartoonist Rob Liefeld, who posted that he had "talked to friends at Skydance" and that a sale was "likely a no," though "licensing the comics, certain families, would not be out of the question." Cosmic Book News reported those remarks. Liefeld is not a studio spokesman, and licensing a comic line is not the same as selling the characters outright.

Against a sale stand the facts already in front of us. Coverage before the close, citing sources who had spoken to The Hollywood Reporter, called DC Comics an "IP generator" and suggested Skydance would not "touch" it. After the close, the company hired a new DC Studios president and publicly committed to the label. That does not prove DC could never be sold, only that a fire sale is still a rumour.

If DC Were Sold, I Would Hope for Marvel Crossovers

If Skydance decides to sell DC, I hope Marvel can acquire it, so that we can get crossover characters between DC and Marvel. Those are films I would like to see in the future. That is a hope, not a prediction or a report that anyone is negotiating such a deal.

It is also a hope about Disney. Disney has owned Marvel since 2009. A sale of DC to "Marvel" would be a sale to Disney, which already owns one of the two great American superhero libraries. Whether regulators would allow the other to join it is a serious question. The first obstacle is simpler: Skydance has not announced that DC is for sale.

The wish itself is not new to the comics. DC and Marvel have officially crossed their characters before, and DC has recently collected that history. The first official team-up was Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man (1976). Further meetings in 1981 and 1982 included Superman and Spider-Man, Batman vs. The Incredible Hulk, and The Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans. In 1996 the companies staged DC Versus Marvel and, for a short time, fused characters into the Amalgam Universe. Those were comics, agreed between two publishers, not a merger of the companies. I would like to see that spirit on a cinema screen. I am not saying it is about to happen.

Is Skydance Rebooting James Gunn's DCU?

A hard reboot — wiping the continuity already on screen, recasting Superman, or folding Robert Pattinson's Batman into the main DC Universe — has not been announced or confirmed by the major trades as a done deal. What has been reported is a dismantling of the longer Chapter One: Gods and Monsters roadmap beyond the titles already in motion. On 10 November, Puck's Matthew Belloni wrote that he is "told plans are already afoot to dismantle much of what Gunn and Safran had plotted out beyond" Man of Tomorrow, the shooting The Batman Part II, and an in-the-works HBO series: "So DC goes back into reboot mode… again." On 12 November, TheWrap said insiders told it Jeremy Latcham has a mandate from David Ellison to get Justice League headliners such as Batman, Wonder Woman and Aquaman on screen quickly, and that the Gods and Monsters roadmap "is almost certainly out." Skydance declined to comment to TheWrap.

What Puck and TheWrap Actually Reported

These are trade reports about the unmade plan, not a notice that the films already released have been struck from canon. Belloni's item appeared in Puck's What I'm Hearing newsletter of 10 November, listed in the archive as "DC's Endless Reboot" and quoted by GamesRadar+ the same day. He did not name the HBO series he carved out; the official title already in the can for 2027 is The People v. Gorilla Grodd. He also did not say Corenswet was being recast, or that Pattinson's films were being merged into the main line.

TheWrap's follow-up added that the previous roadmap, "which emphasized more esoteric heroes like Swamp Thing, is almost certainly out." The same article then suggested, as a possible path rather than as a decision, that Skydance could keep most of the actors already cast and reorient the slate around solo films. That idea is analysis, not a green light.

A harder break — a new Superman, or Pattinson as the official DCU Batman — remains unconfirmed. Variety, in a 9 November overview, asked whether "franchise stars like Corenswet stay on board, or will Latcham clean house to make room for a new vision?" It did not answer its own question.

Official Language Is Vague: a "Next Era," Not a Continuity Announcement

None of Latcham, Ellison, Gunn or Skydance has said, in so many words, that the universe is being rebooted, or that Gods and Monsters remains the plan. In the official 9 November statement, Ellison and co-chief executive Ynon Kreiz praised Gunn and Safran for "resetting the foundation and building a slate we're incredibly proud of," and said they looked forward to working with Latcham "to build the next generation of DC storytelling" and to "doubling down on our commitment to fans." Latcham said he was honoured "to now lead DC Studios into its next era." TheWrap noted they repeated a "commitment to fans" on that day's earnings call, without saying what it meant for continuity.

"Next generation" and "next era" can be read as a continuation or as a reset. They lock in neither. Gunn wrote that "the characters we set up will live on," and that another DC project he is writing will "see where it goes after that." The first line is his hope, not a studio guarantee. Latcham does not start until 1 December, and has not said whether Chapter One continues after Man of Tomorrow.

What Stays in Flight, and What Looks Uncertain

The titles already in motion still match Belloni's carve-outs: Man of Tomorrow, dated for theatres on 9 July 2027; The Batman Part II, in production for 18 February 2028 as a separate Reeves story; and The People v. Gorilla Grodd, filmed and expected in 2027. Variety has also said Gunn and Safran remain attached to a further season of Creature Commandos.

Beyond that, the slate is exposed if the Puck and TheWrap reporting holds. The Brave and the Bold, the planned DC Universe Batman, has no date. A Swamp Thing film, with James Mangold attached, has no date and sits in the esoteric part of the roadmap TheWrap says is "almost certainly out." Variety called an untitled Wonder Woman film, with Ana Nogueira attached, a reboot that "never got off the ground." The Hollywood Reporter reported that Gunn had been writing a third Superman film that might grow into a Justice League team-up; that plan, THR said, is now Latcham's to continue or drop, and "at this stage, the only movies on the horizon are Man of Tomorrow and The Batman Part II."

Lanterns, which Variety called "a decent ratings hit for HBO," has not been officially renewed. An insider told TheWrap it averaged roughly 19.3 million viewers, with a decision due "at the top of the year." Showrunner Chris Mundy has called a renewal, after the merger, a "coin flip." None of those development titles has been publicly cancelled, and none except the work already shooting or in the can has been locked in under the new boss.

Who Is Still Superman for a Critic Who Saw Christopher Reeve in 1978?

For me, Superman is Christopher Reeve. I was born in 1971, and I saw Superman in the cinema in 1978 with my maternal uncle, a man who read novels. That outing, and the television we watched together, is how I trace my later work in film distribution and television broadcast.

The 1978 Cinema Outing: My Uncle, Brando, and a Score I Loved Before I Knew the Name

Superman opened in the United States on 15 December 1978. I was a child, and I saw it on a cinema screen, not on a set at home, with my mother's brother beside me. He was a reader of novels, and he was the person who sat with me in front of the television as well. Together we watched Columbo, McCloud, the NBC Mystery Movie, The Incredible Hulk, The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman. Those evenings, and that first Superman, are what I later recognised as the start of a life in film distribution and in television broadcast.

What I do remember is my uncle pointing at the screen. There is a great actor here, he told me: Marlon Brando, making what felt to him like a guest appearance, the man who had made The Godfather. Brando plays Jor-El, Superman's father, in those opening scenes on Krypton. I did not go looking for The Godfather at once. I saw it about ten years later, or more.

I also remember the pleasure of the film itself, before I had any of the names that critics use. I loved the credits as they flew toward the screen. I loved the score long before I knew the composer's name was John Williams. Williams composed and conducted the music for that 1978 film. On Superman II and Superman III, Ken Thorne adapted Williams's themes; I will not pretend Williams wrote every later cue. The love began with the first film, in a cinema, with my uncle, before I could have told you who was responsible for the sound that had a hold on me.

Superman II and III in the Cinema, and Superman IV on Video

I saw Superman II in the cinema. In the United States it was released in 1981. I saw Superman III in the cinema as well; it opened there on 17 June 1983. The man in the suit was still Reeve, and the pleasure of going out to see him, on a large screen, is part of why that face remained, for me, the face of the character.

I saw Superman IV: The Quest for Peace in another way. It was released in 1987, and I watched it on video. Even then, I noticed that it was low budget. I was beginning to see how films were made, and the difference in means was visible on the tape. I will leave it at that observation. I am not building a production history I did not live through. I am saying what I saw: the same actor, a smaller film.

Beyond the Cape: Somewhere in Time, Deathtrap, and Rear Window

Reeve was never only Superman to me. I love Deathtrap (1982), in which he stars with Michael Caine. I love Somewhere in Time (1980), with Jane Seymour. I watched that film once and then again and again. I think it is one of the best romantic films.

I was very sad when he was hurt. In May 1995, Reeve was paralysed in a riding accident. He continued to work, and he could not walk. In 1998 he starred in a television remake of Rear Window, which was shown on ABC on 22 November 1998; he was also an executive producer of the film. I know that remake. It is part of how I remember him after the injury: still an actor, still working.

Other men have put on the cape since then, and I will come to them. For the boy in that cinema in 1978, and for the critic writing now, Superman is Christopher Reeve.

What Does a Critic Who Skipped Gunn's Superman Make of This Reset?

I have not seen James Gunn's Superman, and I have not seen the 2026 Supergirl. I also did not watch the Supergirl or Batwoman television series. For me, Supergirl is still Helen Slater, in the 1984 film. Henry Cavill was a great Superman, though I did not like Man of Steel. Anything I say about Gunn's new leads is my opinion, formed from trailers and images, not from sitting through those films. Separately, there is a reported matter: after the 9 November exit, Francis Lawrence, the director of Constantine, told Collider that "the people that were at DC were an impediment to us making" a sequel. My idea that Gunn also put obstacles in front of Matt Reeves is, by contrast, only my theory.

Henry Cavill, Batman v Superman, and Helen Slater's Supergirl

Henry Cavill was a great Superman. I did not like Man of Steel (2013). It felt to me like Christopher Reeve's Superman and Superman II compressed into one film. I liked Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) a lot. I liked Ben Affleck as Batman, and I liked the Wonder Woman crossover. I saw the theatrical Justice League (2017) once.

For me, as well, Supergirl was Helen Slater. She starred in Supergirl in 1984. That is the Supergirl I carry. I did not see the later television Supergirl, I did not see Batwoman, and I did not see the 2026 film with Milly Alcock.

I Have Not Seen Gunn's Superman or Supergirl

I think the man who plays Superman in Gunn's film, David Corenswet, and the young woman who plays Supergirl, Milly Alcock, were miscast. That is my opinion, and I want it understood as such. I have not seen either of those films. I am going by what I have seen of the casting and the trailers, and by images of the two of them in the parts.

I also heard a YouTuber say that Gunn makes films for himself, for his own taste, not for the audience. I agree completely. Gunn has a vision. Sometimes that vision applies to Guardians of the Galaxy. To DC it is different. DC characters are different from Marvel characters, and I do not think a lot of people would like to see that vision on a DC screen. That, too, is my opinion, not a law of the box office.

What the Constantine 2 Director Said, and My Theory About Matt Reeves

On the Constantine sequel, there is something on the record, and it should be kept separate from my own theory about Batman. Francis Lawrence, who directed Constantine (2005), spoke to Collider's Steve Weintraub after Gunn and Peter Safran left DC Studios. Variety and Deadline both quoted the interview. Lawrence said they had been trying to make Constantine 2 for "20-something years," that "we have an idea, and we have a script," and that "the people that were at DC were an impediment to us making it." He added that he was "more hopeful as of yesterday's news," and that he had "renewed hope" of "forward movement." The people he named as wanting to do the film were himself, Keanu Reeves, Akiva Goldsman and J.J. Abrams. He also said that if DC wanted another Constantine for a shared universe, the two versions "can coexist," if the studio would "let us do the sequel to our version."

That is Lawrence's account of the previous DC leadership, given in the context of the 9 November exit. It is not a finding, by a court or by me, that "Gunn blocked the film." Earlier, in February 2025, Reeves had told Inverse that he and Lawrence had pitched a story to DC Studios "and they said, 'Okay.'" In October 2025, Gunn said on the BobaTalks podcast, as Deadline reported, "I've discussed it on and off. I've discussed it with Keanu, but I have not read any script yet." The sequel has not been announced as greenlit, and it has not been announced as cancelled. Lawrence's hope is now addressed to whoever is running DC.

I also have a theory, and I have already said that it is my theory, not something the trades have reported, and not something Matt Reeves or the studio have said. I think James Gunn put obstacles in front of Reeves's Batman as well. The delays that are on the public record in 2026 are the long path to a start date, and the October pause so that Reeves could attend to a family matter, after which Steven Soderbergh stepped in to help him finish the shoot. Those are the facts. The comparison with Constantine 2 is my own.

What's Confirmed, and What Is Still Rumour?

This much is confirmed. James Gunn and Peter Safran are leaving DC Studios, and Jeremy Latcham takes over on 1 December 2026. Man of Tomorrow is still dated for theatres on 9 July 2027. Matt Reeves remains the director of The Batman Part II, with Steven Soderbergh finishing the last weeks of the shoot; the film is still dated 18 February 2028. A sale of DC Comics, and a hard reboot that recasts Superman or folds Robert Pattinson's Batman into the main line, have not been confirmed. What the trades have reported is that the longer Chapter One: Gods and Monsters roadmap is being taken apart.

For me, Superman is still Christopher Reeve. I think Matt Reeves deserves at least a trilogy, like Christopher Nolan. If Skydance decides to sell DC, I hope Marvel can acquire it, so that we can get crossover characters between DC and Marvel. Those are films I would like to see in the future. That is a hope, not a report: Disney has owned Marvel since 2009, and Skydance has not announced that DC is for sale. I have tried here to keep three things distinct — what is confirmed, what is only rumour, and what is my own opinion.

Frequently Asked Questions About James Gunn and the DC News

Is James Gunn leaving DC Studios?

Yes. James Gunn and Peter Safran are leaving their jobs as co-chief executives of DC Studios, effective 1 December 2026. Skydance announced the change on 9 November. The official language is that they will "step away from their leadership roles" and "return full time to their creative work." Jeremy Latcham becomes president and chief creative officer on 1 December.

Was James Gunn fired, or did he step down?

The press release says they will "step away." Variety described the move as a firing, and a 10 November analysis said they "were dismissed from the top of the comic book empire." The Hollywood Reporter wrote that they were told they were out on Friday, 6 November, on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank.

Is Man of Tomorrow going straight to streaming?

Not on the official record. As of 9 November 2026, Skydance still dates Man of Tomorrow for a theatrical release on 9 July 2027. Talk of a straight-to-digital or Max/Paramount+ release began on 11 November on a rumour site. No story in Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, The Wrap or Puck has confirmed a change of plan.

Is David Corenswet still Superman?

In Man of Tomorrow, yes. The film has already been shot with David Corenswet as Clark Kent / Superman. No studio has announced a recast for the 2027 sequel. Whether he is signed for anything after this film is unconfirmed. A rumour-site claim that he is "out as Superman" has not been matched by a major trade.

Is Matt Reeves still directing The Batman Part II?

Yes. Steven Soderbergh is finishing the last weeks of principal photography. Matt Reeves remains the director and is expected to oversee post-production. On 15 October he posted, "Just to be clear, I am not leaving The Batman Part II." The film is still dated 18 February 2028.

Is Skydance selling DC Comics?

No sale has been confirmed, and Skydance's actions so far point toward keeping DC. The Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery deal closed on 6 October 2026, and DC came with it. The sale claim comes from a 10 November gossip item, not from the major trades. On 9 November, Skydance named a new DC Studios chief and restated the theatrical slate.

Is Skydance rebooting James Gunn's DCU?

A hard reboot — recasting Superman, or folding Robert Pattinson's Batman into the main DC Universe — has not been confirmed. What has been reported, by Puck on 10 November and TheWrap on 12 November, is a dismantling of the longer Chapter One: Gods and Monsters roadmap beyond the titles already in motion. Skydance declined to comment to TheWrap.

What did the Constantine 2 director say after Gunn's exit?

Francis Lawrence told Collider, as quoted by Variety and Deadline, that they had been trying to make Constantine 2 for "20-something years," have "an idea" and "a script," and that "the people that were at DC were an impediment to us making it." He said he was "more hopeful as of yesterday's news." The film has not been greenlit.