- Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc WBD appointed a veteran director-producer team of James Gunn and Peter Safran to the new roles of Co-Chair and CEOs of DC Studios effective on November 1.
- Gunn and Safran have extensive experience with the superhero genre, bringing some of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and DC Universe's most popular characters to life.
- Their success stories included Marvel's blockbuster Guardians of the Galaxy, and DC's highest-grossing movie, Aquaman; Shazam!; The Suicide Squad; and the HBO Max original, live-action series Peacemaker.
- Also Read: Did Black Adam Save DC Comics? How The Rock Could Revive Warner Brothers Stock
- The DC Studios movie franchise includes a stable of valuable superhero properties, including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman.
- WBD CEO David Zaslav has said he wants to put in place a 10-year-plan to rebuild DC and make it better compete with Walt Disney Co DIS Marvel Studios, the Wall Street Journal reported.
- Gunn and Safran will oversee DC's titles across multiple formats, including theatrical releases, television series, and releases for Warner Discovery's HBOMax streaming service.
- The last few years have been chaotic for the DC franchises. Some tentpole movies, including 2017's "Justice League" and 2019's "Shazam!" have underperformed at the box office.
- Marvel superhero movies have, on average, consistently outperformed DC's at the box office over the past two decades.
- Walter Hamada, who has led the DC movie division since 2018, will step down.
- In an August earnings call, Zaslav praised the success of Marvel Studios and its chief, Kevin Feige, saying the company seeks to put a similar structure for DC.
- Price Action: WBD shares traded lower by 0.52% at $13.50 in the premarket on the last check Wednesday.
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