With James Gunn and Peter Safran stepping down as DC Studios co-CEOs, the future of the DCU is truly up in the air. But to make matters worse, Gunn seems to have already nailed the coffin shut on one DCU hero.
Underneath Gunn's DC Studios exit statement on Instagram, one fan commented, "We're never going to see Peacemaker again." Though Gunn didn't outright confirm the statement, he liked the comment, which pretty much tells us that the fan is right.
Not long after Skydance acquired Warner Bros. earlier this year, the company has already started to make major changes to the conglomerate, starting with replacing Gunn and Safran with former Marvel Studios executive Jeremy Latcham, starting on December 1, 2026. Though Skydance, which owns Paramount, has yet to reveal what its intentions are with the DCU, reports suggest the company plans to "dismantle" Gunn's DCU Chapter One.
This would seemingly mean that DCU characters such as John Cena's Peacemaker, David Corenswet's Superman, Milly Alcock's Supergirl, and more would cease to exist and be replaced, just as the DCEU's characters were the last time around. Seeing Peacemaker on the chopping block wouldn't be too surprising, as he is a character who has been championed by Gunn from the start, first appearing in the director's 2021 movie The Suicide Squad, and later given his own HBO show.
But there may be light at the end of the tunnel for some characters, as Gunn's statement states that although he is "relieved" to be stepping down and going back to "pure filmmaking," that's not to say that he and Safran are "immediately done with DC or superheroes," adding that "the characters we set up will live on."
The good news is that titles already deep in development, such as Man of Tomorrow and The People v. Gorilla Grodd, are still happening. But another show seemingly in danger is Lanterns, which, despite becoming one of HBO's most successful new shows ever, has yet to be renewed. Showrunner Chris Mundy says a second season is a 50/50 coin toss right now, but Variety reports that Skydance doesn't think that the show is capturing the zeitgeist, which may be why it hasn't been officially greenlit.
For more, check out our guide on how to watch the DC movies in order, and keep up with upcoming DC movies and shows announced before Gunn's departure.
