Matt Jarbo

So let me get this straight. James Gunn and Peter Safran apparently shit the bed at DC Studios so bad that David Ellison's brilliant solution was to hire the Marvel executive who helped launch James Gunn's superhero career in the first place?

You seriously cannot make this shit up.

Jeremy Latcham was one of the Marvel executives who helped bring Gunn aboard GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY back in 2012. He was a major advocate for Gunn, and the two have maintained a strong professional relationship ever since. So now the guy who helped bring James Gunn into the MCU is the same guy replacing him at DC Studios. That's fucking wild.

And look, Gunn has already admitted that the corporate side of running DC Studios was exhausting. He didn't enjoy it, and I genuinely believe he's relieved to be leaving. Whether you want to call it being fired, removed, or stepping down, the reality is that Skydance decided to make a leadership change after four years of mixed results.

But here's what I find fascinating. Gunn and Safran spent four years trying to build this interconnected universe, released three theatrical movies and three television shows, and apparently weren't delivering what Skydance wanted. So David Ellison went looking for someone to clean up the mess and hired one of the very Marvel executives who helped launch Gunn's superhero career in the first place.

I've already expressed my concerns about Latcham, but I think this also demonstrates the problem with putting filmmakers in charge of running entire studios. Gunn is a talented director, but managing budgets, coordinating productions, building franchises, and answering to corporate leadership requires a completely different skill set. And even with an experienced producer like Safran beside him, it clearly wasn't enough to keep them in charge.

Now we're bringing in another Marvel veteran to clean up a DCU built by a former Marvel filmmaker, with Gunn still attached creatively to MAN OF TOMORROW and potentially other projects.

I'm genuinely curious how much of Gunn's original plan Latcham will actually keep... Or if DC will reboot again?

Coming soon from DC Studios (probably)

There's something about Jeremy Latcham's comments on Christianity and filmmaking that really bothers me, especially now that he's taking over DC Studios.

In a resurfaced interview, Latcham talked about how his Christian upbringing influenced his work at Marvel, even using whether his grandmother would approve of something as a guiding principle. And look, I have no problem with faith, traditional values, family, redemption, or any of that. But I do have concerns about potentially making one person's religious worldview a guiding philosophy for an entire studio.

Here's why. According to Pew Research, 62% of Americans identify as Christian, down from 78% in 2007. Younger generations are significantly less religious, but they're also among the most enthusiastic moviegoers. And considering how politically charged Christianity has become in America, especially following last week's midterms, I think Hollywood needs to be careful about confusing broad appeal with religious messaging.

I'm not suggesting Latcham is a Christian nationalist. But there's a big difference between telling stories with universal values and trying to make movies that reflect a particular religious perspective. Audiences can appreciate hope, redemption, and morality without wanting to be preached to.

This is Skydance's DCU, not Angel Studios' DCU. And if the plan is to filter these characters through some kind of faith-based approval process, I think that's going to be a serious problem. Especially when you're trying to build a massive franchise that needs to appeal to people from all walks of life.

Oof.

Which is considerably down from what it was 15 to 20 years ago.

Fewer young people are going to church and identifying as Christian.

The median age of a churchgoer in America is 54 years old.

67% of moviegoers last year were Gen Z ages 18 to 29.

Hollywood is a business.

It doesn't make any sense to cater to people who aren't going to theaters.