DC Studios is an American film and television production company that is a division of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). It is responsible for the production of live-action and animated films and television series, as well as video games, based on characters from the American comic book publisher DC Comics, primarily as part of its flagship media franchise and shared universe, the DC Universe (DCU). The studio has been led by writer/director James Gunn and producer Peter Safran as its co-chairmen and co-CEOs since its formation in November 2022.
The studio's predecessor, DC Films, was formed in May 2016 as a division of Warner Bros. Pictures to oversee DC-based film productions, primarily those from its shared universe franchise the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). DC comic book and television writer Geoff Johns and Warner Bros. producer Jon Berg served as co-chairmen. After several DCEU films received poor reception and underperformed financially, the duo stepped down by the end of 2017, and the division was reorganized, with Walter Hamada hired as the studio's president. Following the merger of DC and Warner Bros. owner WarnerMedia with Discovery, Inc. in April 2022, WBD overhauled its operations, leading Hamada to step down in October 2022. DC Films was then dissolved in favor of DC Studios, a new division with greater oversight of DC media. Gunn and Safran, who had worked on some DCEU projects, were hired to lead the studio, and the duo began work on the DCU as a new franchise to serve as a soft reboot of the DCEU.
DC Films produced 13 films within the DCEU, from Suicide Squad (2016) to Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023), as well as two standalone films, Joker (2019) and The Batman (2022). The studio's DCEU film Aquaman (2018) and Joker each grossed over $1 billion and are thus among the highest-grossing films of all time; Aquaman is the highest-grossing film based on a DC Comics character, while Joker was the highest-grossing R-rated film upon its release and the first to earn over a billion dollars at the worldwide box office. The first DC Studios production is the television series The Penguin (2024), a spin-off from The Batman. DC Studios releases films and television series within the DCU, starting with the animated series Creature Commandos in 2024, and the film Superman in 2025. Productions that are not part of the DCU are set to be part of the "DC Elseworlds" label. The studio's first animated feature film is set to be Dynamic Duo (2028).
Contents
History
Formation of DC Films and initial developments (2016–2022)
After the divisive reception to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), Warner Bros. Pictures sought to stabilize the direction of its media franchise and shared universe, the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). In May 2016, the studio reorganized to have genre-responsible film executives, thus DC Entertainment films under Warner Bros. Pictures were placed under a new division, DC Films, to be led by Warner Bros. executive vice president, Jon Berg, and the chief creative officer of DC Comics, Geoff Johns. This was done in hopes of competing more directly with Marvel Studios' franchise, the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Johns kept his role at DC Comics, and reported to DC Entertainment's president, Diane Nelson, while Berg reported to Warner Bros. Pictures' president, Greg Silverman. The division's formation was not designed to override the "director-driven" mandate.
Justice League (2017) had one of the largest film budgets–nearly $300 million–but grossed approximately $96 million in its opening weekend. Steven Zeitchik, in an analysis for The Washington Post, expected another course correction, with a possible change in leadership. Scott Mendelson of Forbes felt that the course correction would be for DC Films to give up on the shared universe, while continuing with the Wonder Woman films and occasionally other films, as Warner Bros. had other franchises they could work with. Despite this, in December, the studio reiterated their planned film slate for the DCEU. That same month, Warner Bros. announced that a new strategy and organization of DC Films would occur, with Berg leaving his position as the studio's co-president of production to form a Warner Bros.–based production company with Roy Lee. Johns was expected to remain involved in future DC films moving forward in an advisory role while continuing as the president and chief creative officer of DC Entertainment, with Warner Bros. expected to hire a new studio head.
In January 2018, Warner Bros. executive Walter Hamada was appointed as the new president of DC Films, to oversee the films in the DCEU. Hamada was closely associated with New Line Cinema, and helped develop horror films, such as It (2017) and The Conjuring film franchise. Johns subsequently left his role at DC Entertainment that June, and he was no longer involved with the DCEU. The studio's DCEU film Aquaman (2018) grossed over $1.1 billion at the worldwide box office, became the highest-grossing film based on a DC Comics character and the highest-grossing DCEU entry. The studio's subsequent standalone film Joker (2019) grossed $1.07 billion, making it the highest-grossing R-rated film upon its release and the first to earn over a billion dollars at the worldwide box office.
Restructuring and immediate changes (2022)
In April 2022, after the merger between Warner Bros. owner WarnerMedia and Discovery, Inc. to form Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), the new CEO David Zaslav was exploring a restructuring of DC Entertainment, including having a creative leader akin to Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige to lead its film and television projects. Later in July, Toby Emmerich stepped down as the head of the Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group. The group was restructured to give DC Films, Warner Bros. Pictures, New Line Cinema, and Warner Animation Group respective leadership. Former MGM executives Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy became the co-executives of Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema. They were also temporarily assigned to oversee the remaining units of the group until the new positions were filled.
When the release of the film Batgirl was canceled by WBD in August, Hamada was not consulted regarding the decision and only learned about it when De Luca and Abdy informed him at a test screening for Black Adam (2022). Hamada was upset and considered resigning, but agreed to stay until Black Adam's release. Later that month, Dan Lin entered talks to oversee DC's film and television divisions. From this position, Lin was expected to report directly to Zaslav, while Hamada would depart the studio. In September, Lin and WBD ended negotiations and agreed to part ways, in part due to Lin's concerns with the Batgirl cancellation. During Black Adam's Times Square premiere in October, star and producer Dwayne Johnson said he could be a consultant at DC Films, helping the studio find its next creative leader. Later that month, it was reported that De Luca had been effectively running DC Films in place of Hamada. On October 19, Hamada departed the company, two days before the release of Black Adam.
Formation of DC Studios and new leadership (since 2022)
Less than a week after Hamada's departure, writer/director James Gunn and producer Peter Safran, who had previously worked together on the DCEU film The Suicide Squad (2021) and its spin-off series Peacemaker (2022), were announced as the co-CEOs and co-chairmen of DC Studios, a newly-created production entity under WBD. DC Films was dissolved, and DC Studios oversaw the remaining films from the studio pending release in 2023. The duo was tasked with leading the production of films, television, animation, and video games under the DC label, reporting directly to Zaslav while also working alongside, but independently of, the heads of WBD's other divisions. Gunn oversees the creative development of DC projects, while Safran supervises the production side. Their roles officially began on November 1, 2022, and reportedly lasted for four years.
In November, Gunn said that the studio would focus on multiple DCU live-action and animated projects, but also stated that they would acknowledge fan responses and complaints, and confirmed all subsequent DC projects would be released under the DC Studios banner, including those that were filmed before the formation of the studio. In December, Gunn announced that he was writing a new Superman film that would feature a younger actor in the role. Henry Cavill was not set to return as Superman, while Ben Affleck, who portrayed Bruce Wayne / Batman in the DCEU, was reported to be in talks to direct a new DC Studios project, before Affleck stated that he was not interested in directing a DC film. Gunn later revealed that new DC films would have an equal focus on popular and obscure characters, drawing inspiration from the DC animated series Justice League Unlimited (2004–2006) and Young Justice (2010–2022).
On January 31, 2023, Gunn and Safran announced the first slate of DCU content, titled "Chapter One: Gods and Monsters". They also assembled a writers' room that included Drew Goddard, Jeremy Slater, Christina Hodson, Christal Henry, and Tom King. Projects that are not a part of the shared universe are branded as "DC Elseworlds". The following month, Gunn confirmed development for animated films within both the DCU and DC Elseworlds. Gunn said in March that they were working on potentially incorporating characters from DC's Vertigo Comics imprint beyond the Swamp Thing film, and said the following month that there were plans to incorporate characters from Milestone Media publications by DC, such as Static. In September, WBD announced that it would expand its production facility at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, England, which would serve as the primary production hub for DC Studios. Gunn and Safran were consulting on the expansion, with work scheduled to start in the second quarter of 2024 and expected to be completed by 2027. DC Studios's television series were initially all intended for the streaming service HBO Max (briefly renamed to simply "Max"), but in June 2024, WBD shifted many of its planned big-budget Max series to be HBO originals beginning in 2025, including upcoming series from DC Studios.
Management
Current executives
James Gunn – Co-chairman and co-chief executive officer (CEO), DC Studios; Gunn serves in leadership as creative head for the company (November 2022–present)
Peter Safran – Co-chairman and co-chief executive officer (CEO), DC Studios; Safran serves in leadership over the business aspects of the company (November 2022–present)
Chantal Nong – Executive Vice President (EVP), Production, DC Studios; Nong oversees the production and creative development of DC-based films, television, and animation (November 2022–present); formerly Senior Vice President, Feature Development and Production of DC Films, overseeing creative development and production management of DC-based films (February 2018 – November 2022)
Candice McDonough – Executive Vice President (EVP), Publicity and Communications; McDonough oversees media relations, publicity, and external and employee communications (July 2023–present)
Galen Vaisman – Vice President (VP), Creative Development; former assistant to Jon Berg
Lars P. Winther – Executive Vice President (EVP), Physical Production
Former executives
Jon Berg – Executive Vice President (EVP) and co-president of production, Warner Bros. Pictures; co-chairman of DC Films; and co-runner of the DCEU (May 2016 – December 2017)
Geoff Johns – Co-chairman of DC Films (May 2016 – December 2017); president and chief creative officer, DC Entertainment (February 2010 – June 2018); and co-runner of the DCEU (2015 – June 2018)
Walter Hamada – President, DC-Based Film Production, Warner Bros. Pictures (January 2018 – October 2022)
Production library
Films
Each DC Films and DC Studios film is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.
Television
Each DC Studios live-action series is co-produced in association with Warner Bros. Television.
Each DC Studios animated series is co-produced in association with Warner Bros. Animation.
Podcasts
DC Studios has partnered with OBB Sound, DC Comics, HBO Max, and YouTube on podcasts discussing its projects with various creatives and actors, including DC Studios Showcase: The Official Podcast (2024–present), Peacemaker: The Official Podcast with James Gunn (2025), and Lanterns: The Official Podcast (2026–present).