DC’s James Gunn and Peter Safran Are “Close to the End” of Their Franchise Outline

Warner Bros. Discovery is giving the future of DC movies and television an all-new direction. The company has established DC Studios as its own production wing, and tapped the duo of James Gunn and Peter Safran to spearhead the entire franchise. They are in charge of all DC projects outside of Matt Reeves’ Batman universe and Todd Phillips’ Joker, in the hopes that a cohesive, successful franchise can be built. Gunn and Safran began their new jobs at the start of November, and it appears things are really moving in the right direction.

In a wide-ranging discussion with RBC on Tuesday, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav opened up about the future of DC Studios under the leadership of Gunn and Safran. The duo started their work by creating a “bible” for the franchise, laying out the various stories they want to tell, characters they want to include, and rules they want to abide by. This is the roadmap for DC Studios, and Zaslav said on Tuesday that Gunn and Safran are “coming close to the end” of putting the enormous plan together.

Zaslav went on to say that the next several years will represent a major period of growth for DC movies and shows, and it will be a much more cohesive effort than we’ve seen in the past.

“I think over the next few years, you’re going to see a lot of growth and opportunity around DC; there’s not going to be four Batmans,” Zaslav said. “And so part of our strategy is, drive the hell out of DC, which James and Peter are going to do. I think they’ve thrilled the fans. I think they’re going to thrill you over a period of time.”

DC has been on a hot streak over the past few years, and both Gunn and Safran have been a major part of that success. Gunn wrote and directed The Suicide Squad, as well as its highly successful spinoff series, Peacemaker. Safran produced those titles as well as Aquaman and Shazam! Both of those films have sequels set to hit theaters next year. 

What do you hope to see from Gunn and Safran’s take on the live-action DC universe? Any specific characters on your wishlist? Let us know in the comments!