James Gunn’s tenure as head of DC Studios could theoretically end later this year.It’s been over three years since Gunn took charge of DC Studios with producer Peter Safran, fresh off Warner Bros. Discovery’s decision to dissolve the old cinematic DC setup. The pair became co-chairmen and co-CEOs, tasked with overseeing film, television, animation, and gaming.Credit: DC StudiosThe job followed Gunn’s successful turn as writer-director of The Suicide Squad (2021) and creator of Peacemaker. It also put a filmmaker best known for Marvel’s hit Guardians of the Galaxy franchise in command of its fiercest superhero rival – right as the Marvel Cinematic Universe entered its critical and box office slump.From the beginning, Gunn was positioned as the public creative face of the overhaul, while Safran handled producing and business responsibilities. Their early promise was a connected universe that could still leave space for standalone, filmmaker-led DC stories – but could his time at the helm be nearing its end?James Gunn’s DC Run Stumbles After SupergirlThe real referendum on Gunn’s reboot was 2025’s Superman, written and directed by Gunn and built around David Corenswet’s newly cast Man of Steel.Superman opened to $125 million domestically and eventually reached $618.7 million worldwide. It may not have returned DC to its Aquaman-era heights from a financial perspective, but it gave Warner Bros. a credible hit after years of franchise false starts – not to mention proved popular with fans and critics alike, with the latter awarding a Rotten Tomatoes score of 83%.Credit: DC StudiosUnfortunately, that goodwill has not automatically transferred to Supergirl. Craig Gillespie’s Milly Alcock-led film has reached roughly $89.1 million worldwide as of writing, including $52.5 million domestically, against a reported $170 million production budget.Its $37.1 million domestic opening was already a warning sign. The total landed below expectations and only narrowly outpaced Joker: Folie à Deux (2024), a title widely treated as the clearest commercial failure of DC’s previous era.While Alcock’s take on the character – who technically debuted in Superman – was widely praised, reviews have cited thin storytelling, flat jokes, underwhelming action, tonal confusion, and a villain who never becomes as compelling as the publicity suggested.Credit: DC StudiosRELATED: New ‘Batman’ Actor Breaks Silence on Playing Iconic Role in James Gunn’s DCU RebootThe film’s rougher, more reckless Kara Zor-El also divided viewers, expecting a conventional Superman-adjacent adventure. Its revenge-road-movie structure was a sharp left turn for only the second theatrical entry in an entirely new cinematic universe.Still, the conversation has not been limited to reasonable criticism. Some of the loudest online reactions have been openly gendered, reducing Alcock’s casting and the film itself to complaints about a supposed “girlboss” agenda.There have been claims of review bombing on audience-rating platforms, though there is no independent data establishing how much that affected the score. That does not erase the mixed reviews, B- CinemaScore, or worrying box office.Credit: DC StudiosBut it would be naïve to pretend women-led superhero movies are judged in an online vacuum (for proof, just see the treatment of Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel). Supergirl can be an expensive disappointment without making Alcock the problem, and hostility toward a female lead should not become a shortcut for explaining every weakness in the finished film.The film’s reception is now being folded into a larger verdict on the DC Universe — and on the executive who has become its most visible architect. Gunn may not have actually directed Supergirl, but reports of DC’s extensive post-production involvement make its performance difficult to separate from his leadership.Why James Gunn’s Role Could Face a Contract-Year TestThe Hollywood Reporter says sources believe Gunn and Safran’s contracts expire either at the end of 2026 or the end of 2027; Warner Bros. Discovery has not publicly confirmed either date.If their deals end this December, the company could choose to renew, restructure, or replace its DC leadership before 2027. That is the scenario in which Gunn’s future could be decided within five months, not evidence that a removal is currently planned.Credit: DC StudiosThere is no reporting that Gunn is being fired, has been dismissed, or is actively negotiating an exit. DC’s current stated position is that Gunn and Safran remain in charge of a longer-term strategy.Still, Supergirl has placed Gunn under sharper scrutiny because he is not a hands-off executive. He directs DC films, publicly champions the slate, responds to fans constantly online, and has made “quality control” central to his image as DC’s rescuer (even if he may have slightly tainted that image by previously praising The Flash as “one of the greatest superhero movies ever made”).The behind-the-scenes story makes that scrutiny harder to avoid. Filming wrapped in May 2025, but concerns reportedly surfaced by that fall, before an only-adequate December test screening triggered a more intensive post-production process.Multiple sources told The Hollywood Reporter that Gunn and Gillespie had creative differences, though other insiders characterized the friction as a normal studio-filmmaker exchange. Either way, post-production became unusually contested for a film meant to demonstrate DC’s range.Credit: DC StudiosRELATED: James Gunn Confirms New ‘Wonder Woman’ Star CastingThe studio brought in Gunn collaborator Jeremy Slater during post-production, while original writer Ana Nogueira remained involved. Slater reportedly assisted with material for nine days of additional photography, including changes around the climactic fight.Music also became a flashpoint. The preferred choice for Gunn – known for his music-led approach to filmmaking – for one screening was reportedly a cover of Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” later replaced by a cover of Jimmy Eat World’s “The Middle” for the theatrical release. The latter’s inclusion in the film has since been widely derided by fans.Gillespie’s longtime editor, Tatiana S. Riegel, worked alongside Gunn associate Fred Raskin. Then, rather than refine one version, the studio reportedly screened a Gunn-Safran cut against a Gillespie cut, with the studio version only narrowly ahead.Credit: DC StudiosOne source said Gillespie’s version was 11 minutes longer and gave villain Krem more room. The result was hardly decisive: the competing versions reportedly tested worse than earlier cuts, and the movie was not tested again before release.That does not prove Gunn personally caused Supergirl’s shortcomings. It does, however, turn its collapse into a leadership question, because the studio’s response to a troubled film was shaped by the co-CEO who has sold himself as DC’s creative guarantor.The next tests are already on the calendar: the lower-budget Clayface and Gunn’s own Man of Tomorrow, set for July 2027. If a late-2026 contract decision is real, Warner Bros. could be judging Gunn before the next Superman film arrives.Of course, one failure does not declare the DCU dead or Gunn’s tenure over. But a reboot built on consistency must answer the question Supergirl was supposed to settle: Can the new DC Universe work when James Gunn is not behind the camera?What are your predictions for the future of James Gunn’s DC Universe?The post REPORT: James Gunn Could Be Ousted From DC Studios in 5 Months appeared first on Inside the Magic.