James Gann, Peter Safran appointed new presidents for Warner Bros. DC . Studios

James Jean and Peter Safran will be the next co-chairs of Warner Bros. DiscoveryOn Tuesday, the company announced the DC Comics affiliate film and television unit. Their appointments will be effective in November. 1.

This news comes during a turbulent time for Warner Bros. Discovery. CEO David Zaslav was trying to reshape WarnerMedia after its merger with Discovery in April, including by laying off workers and removing content from streaming service HBO Max.

Zaslav was looking for someone to install the ship in the DC movie division, home to superheroes like Wonder Woman and Superman, as well as Warner Bros. Discover aims to capture the kind of consistent success you have DisneyMarvel Studios.

Gunn and Safran both have experience in the superhero genre and have brought heroes from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and DC Universe to screens big and small, including “Guardians of the Galaxy”, “The Suicide Squad” and “Peacemaker”.

Over the weekend, DC’s latest movie, “Black Adam,” grossed $67 million at the domestic box office, the highest debut for star Dwayne Johnson as a leading man. The opening is a solid start to the movie, on par with other flicks featuring lesser known heroes in the DC Extended Universe, but much less so than those in the rival Marvel Cinematic Universe. The last time an MCU movie opened for less than $70 million was in 2015 with the release of “Ant-Man.”

Dan Lane, producer of “The Lego Movie,” was the hot favorite for the job, but it turned out in September that he wouldn’t accept the role. In the end, contract discussions got complicated by Lin’s ownership of Rideback and how Warner Bros. The discovery will make up for it.

Another potential candidate is Emma Watts, the former executive director of films at 20th Century Studios and Paramount, who was rumored to have been approached for the position last April, but did not take the job.

Gann and Safran take poison at a time when the DCEU is on shaky ground. While the franchise has an ardent fan base, critical reception for the films has been poor and the general direction of its films and TV shows has been questioned.

Black Adam currently has a 39% rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 227 reviews, the lowest rating for a DCEU film since 2017’s Justice League, which also stands at 39%.

Warner Bros. It recently moved the second part of the movie “Aquaman”, which was scheduled for release in March 2023, to December 2023. The movie “The Flash”, also scheduled for release next year, is facing a cloud of controversy due to the confrontation of its star, Ezra Miller, several allegations, including Including childcare. Zaslav pulled the almost complete movie “Batgirl” from the list of HBO Max releases, allowing the company to take a tax deduction.

Zaslav recently discussed his desire to build a “long-term, much stronger, and sustainable growth business than the capital” that focuses on quality. The CEO is looking to reset the DC cinematic universe that would lay out a 10-year plan for the franchise.

Zaslav hired Hollywood producer Alan Horn in July to work in a consulting role to help the CEO navigate the film industry. Horn, a respected and veteran Disney executive, was with The Walt Disney Company when it began forming the Marvel Cinematic Universe and releasing the Star Wars franchise.

He also helped bring the “Hobbit” films to the big screen for Warner Bros. , as well as the eight-film Harry Potter film series and Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy.

Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal owns Rotten Tomatoes.