HBO Max Exec Excited to Develop DC Projects With James Gunn and Peter Safran

Fans are definitely curious to see what the future holds for the newly-formed DC Studios, which recently appointed James Gunn and Peter Safran as co-CEOs. In this new regime, Gunn and Safran will be creatively spearheading movies, television shows, and animated properties — and that television component is set to include a number of projects on HBO Max. In addition to the sophomore season of Peacemaker and the first season of The Penguin, there are a lot of possibilities for future HBO Max-exclusive series, and it sounds like one of the streaming service's executives is excited about that. In a recent interview with Variety, HBO Max head of content Sarah Aubrey praised the hiring of Gunn and Safran, and teased the "really fun and very collaborative" process of working on DC projects at the streamer.

"It's a brilliant move to bring a filmmaker and producer into these executive roles for DC," Aubrey revealed. "I know from working with James and Peter on Peacemaker that they have the creative passion, confidence and deep filmmaking expertise to chart a new course for DC that's full of originality and exciting for both fans and filmmakers."

"There's not this territorialism around characters or stories," Aubrey said of the DC process at HBO Max. "And we very much talk about things in both directions: 'That would make a better feature,' or 'That character should start in a feature and then come into a series.' Frankly, I imagine that will continue because it's a big operation."

What is James Gunn's new role at DC?

Gunn and Safran are expected to creatively and financially oversee nearly all of the next four years of upcoming movies and shows inspired by DC's comics. While we'll have to wait and see exactly what new projects come up under the duo's four-year tenure, fans and even other creatives in the superhero space are definitely excited to see what's in store. 

"[For them], running DC Studios is a passion project, not just a job," Zaslav explained during the company's Q3 earnings call. "James is a brilliant storyteller who has the distinction of being the first and only filmmaker to direct the movie for both Marvel and DC. Peter's a prolific producer whose credits include DC's highest grossing movie, Aquaman, as well as the entire Conjuring universe, the most successful horror franchise of all time. I could not be more thrilled to have them join our ranks. And I'm excited for what is to come. I spent a lot of time over the last few months with James and Peter, talking about our strategy and long-term plans for the future of DC across TV, animation, and film. They have a powerful vision and blueprint that will drive a more unified creative approach. [It] will enable us to realize the full value of one of the world's most iconic franchises. They're hard at work right now."

What do you think of the newest comments about James Gunn and Peter Safran's tenure at DC Studios? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!