Kevin Winter/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty ImagesApparently, DC does believe in Gunn control. After four years as the studio’s creative co-chair alongside producer Peter Safran, James Gunn has officially stepped down from his duties. Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros. has introduced plenty of shake-ups: though DC seemed to be weathering the storm of the merger, nothing was set in stone there, either. Jeremy Latcham, a former executive at Marvel Studios, will take over for Gunn and Safran, becoming both president and sole chief creative officer of DC Studios. It’s a shift that, while shocking, might be in DC’s best interest: Gunn and Safran delivered three films (Superman, Supergirl, and Clayface) and a handful of shows (Creature Commandos, Peacemaker Season 2, and Lanterns, to name a few) in four years, but their new reboot had yet to find its footing. Gunn seemed far too focused on building out a Superman universe, propping up C-list characters, or tweeting out crucial updates than delivering the sustainability a new franchise needed. While a great director, his instincts as an exec left something to be desired — but his departure still casts a big shadow over DC Studios. What happens now? Is a regime change better or worse for DC? Here’s everything we know about the studio’s major shake-up, and what it could possibly mean for the universe.Will the DC Universe get another reboot?The stories Gunn and Safran established seem safe in the DCU... for now. | DC StudiosGunn and Safran hand over the keys to DC with a lot of irons still in the fire. The third chapter of what Gunn has called his “Super-Family” saga, Man of Tomorrow, is set to hit theaters in 2027. Then there’s The People v. Gorilla Grodd, yet another story set in Gunn’s version of Metropolis, as well as Dynamic Duo, an animated hybrid film focused on Dick Grayson and Jason Todd that may or may not be set in the DCU. Will Latcham put all these projects on the shelf to wipe the slate clean? It wouldn’t be ideal. The franchise’s future plans left a bit to be desired in terms of consistency — DC needs Batman and Wonder Woman sooner rather than later — but another major reboot so soon would just feel like another setback. It’d also be ridiculously confusing.Fortunately, DC doesn’t seem keen to hit the reset button just yet. In a statement shared to Instagram, Gunn assured fans that “the characters we set up will live on.” Man of Tomorrow is still set for its summer release date, and according to The Hollywood Reporter, Gorilla Grodd is still trucking through post-production. There’s still so much we don’t know about this leadership change, but it’d make sense for Latcham to preserve what Gunn and Safran put in motion while also fast-tracking the projects that the DCU needs more than ever. Skydance CEO David Ellison credited Gunn and Safran for “resetting the foundation” and “building a slate we’re incredibly proud of,” so the franchise seems safe for now. Is Gunn done with the DCU completely?Gunn might not be chief creative officer, but he’s still working on some DC projects. | DC StudiosSurprisingly, no. Gunn was candid about his love for DC and his struggles with the “at-times corporate” nature of running a studio, even admitting that it’s been difficult “dividing my time between projects I’m incredibly passionate about and the ones I’m not so much and all the things I have to do as a studio head.” That said, he’ll remain in the DC fold as both a writer and producer. “We’ve just been engaged on another DC project which I’m writing, and we’ll see where it goes after that,” Gunn revealed. He and Safran also remain on as producers of The Batman Part II, the sequel to Matt Reeves’ The Batman, which will hopefully premiere in 2028. And speaking of the Batman Epic Crime Saga... Will Elseworlds projects be canon now?This DC news is bittersweet, but it could give us a major consolation prize. | Warner Bros.From the moment DC reset its timeline after The Flash, the question on everyone’s lips has been Robert Pattinson’s Batman. Though Matt Reeves’ version of Gotham is not actually canon to the new DCU, it’s always felt counterintuitive to keep it sequestered. Those feelings doubled when David Corenswet debuted as the new Superman: Gunn’s vision for Metropolis complemented Reeves’ dark, dreary world perfectly. Fans could easily imagine Superman and Batman teaming up down the line. Most casual DC watchers still don’t fully understand how or why they haven’t already. Though no one involved in the DC regime change has laid out the future for Elseworlds projects like The Batman Part II or Dynamic Duo, Gunn and Safran’s departure leaves the door wide open for a true consolidation. Their myopic focus on Superman might also be a blessing in disguise: In four years, the DCU didn’t establish much diversity. We know what Metropolis looks like and we’ve met members of the Green Lantern Corps, and Clayface introduced us to Gotham somewhat — but not enough to rule out the possibility of Reeves’ universe becoming canon retroactively. Maybe this is wishful thinking, but with no other films (aside from Man of Tomorrow) in production and no real headway on Gunn’s take on Batman, DC is free to fold Reeves’ Epic Crime Saga into the main universe. It’s the best-case scenario for this shake-up, though we’ll have to wait for an official announcement from the new head of DC before we can fully get our hopes up.Man of Tomorrow, directed by James Gunn, hits theaters on July 9, 2027