DC Is On Its 5th Attempt To Find Its Answer To The MCU's Greatest Superpower

Published Nov 11, 2026, 9:36 AM EST

Cooper Hood is the Associate Editor for all new movie releases, in theaters and on streaming. In addition to writing articles about these titles and upcoming releases, he also oversees content planning for each, ensuring that ScreenRant continues to cover major releases for months after their release.

He has written various reviews for ScreenRant that appear on Rotten Tomatoes, coordinated Oscars and San Diego Comic-Con coverage, appeared on CNN to talk about Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, and done select interviews with talent over the years.

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DC has been chasing Marvel Studios' success with the Marvel Cinematic Universe for well over a decade, and the news of Jeremy Latcham replacing James Gunn and Peter Safran shows why they have failed to do so. The MCU began in 2008 and has become the most impressive, long-running universe in history. Inevitably, Warner Bros. and DC wanted a shared universe of its own to get a piece of the superhero boom.

While DC has the Justice League to rival the Avengers and heroes like Batman and Superman to compete with Iron Man and Captain America, one aspect of the MCU has eluded them: its own version of Kevin Feige. The Marvel Studios president is widely credited with the success of the MCU thanks to how he's managed the franchise. In a universe full of superpowers, Feige's brain is the greatest that Marvel has.

His deep comic knowledge and years of experience producing movies made him a perfect fit for this job, and his singular vision, ability to communicate long-term plans, and build excitement are why DC has spent so much time trying to find someone like him. The news that Safran and, in particular, Gunn would oversee the DC Universe starting in 2022 was seen as the franchise finally finding its version of Feige.

Gunn and Safran's DC Studios exit confirms this was not the case. It's the latest reminder of how difficult (if not impossible) it is for DC to get their answer to Feige. Rather than have a singular figurehead like Feige, DC has shuffled through multiple creative leaders, constantly changed the direction of the franchise, and left audiences questioning what the future holds. Perhaps new DC Studios boss Jeremy Latcham can be the answer, but that will require a level of patience DC has not shown throughout this search.

A Timeline Of DC's Search For Its Kevin Feige

Credit: Lucy North/PA Images/INSTARimages

While Feige has been at Marvel Studios since 2004, it wasn't until after the MCU started to take off that DC began looking for its version. Greg Silverman worked on Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight trilogy from 2006-2012, mixing in work on Jonah Hex and Green Lantern during that time. This led to him becoming Warner Bros.'s President of Creative Development & Worldwide Production in June 2013, putting him in charge as the SnyderVerse was born.

Zack Snyder and Silverman are really where DC's search for its Feige begins. The filmmaker was chosen to make Man of Steel, which led to him becoming an influential figure over the entire direction of DC's movie franchise, eventually coined the DC Extended Universe. Snyder had a 5-movie plan for the DCEU that grew to include solo films for Justice League members.

However, Snyder and Silverman lost their power within the DCEU after just two films, following Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice​​​​​​'s reception. Warner Bros. formed DC Films in May 2016 and hired executive VP Jon Berg and DC Entertainment's CCO to co-run the studio. They reported to Silverman until he stepped down at the end of 2016.

Berg had already worked on BvS, and was involved in the development of Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman, and Justice League before the promotion. He and Johns only stayed at DC Films through the end of 2017, though. The turbulent production for Justice League happened under their leadership, and audiences rejected the Frankensteined version of Snyder's movie with Joss Whedon reshoots.

This led Warner Bros. to hire former New Line executive and producer for The Conjuring universe Walter Hamada in January 2018 to move the DCEU beyond Snyder. His leadership was initially very successful, with Aquaman and Joker crossing $1 billion, while Shazam! became a modest hit. He was also responsible for getting Matt Reeves to make The Batman.

However, Hamada's tenure came to an end in 2022. He resigned following Warner Bros.'s decision to cancel Batgirl, leaving just days after Black Adam hit theaters. This came after a string of financial disappointments with Birds of Prey, Wonder Woman 1984, and The Suicide Squad. He also greenlit the eventual box office disappointments in Shazam! Fury of the Gods, The Flash, Blue Beetle, and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.

Hamada's exit paved the way for David Zaslav to hire Gunn and Safran in October 2022. They oversaw the rest of post-production on Shazam 2, The Flash, Blue Beetle, and Aquaman 2, making changes along the way, like changing Batman actor cameos. They also oversaw the production and release of Joker: Folie à Deux but were not responsible for greenlighting it.

Gunn and Safran's reign truly began with Superman, continued through Supergirl, and ends just a month after Clayface hit theaters. They also oversaw the release of multiple HBO Max shows and had a 10-year plan for the DCU. The duo will remain with DC for at least a bit longer, as Gunn's Man of Tomorrow comes out in 2027, and both have been involved with The Batman: Part II and 2028's Dynamic Duo.

Now, former Marvel Studios producer Jeremy Latcham is in charge at DC Studios. He officially takes control of DC's future on December 1, 2026. Latcham becomes the fifth person hired to oversee DC's movie franchise in 13 years. Hiring one of Feige's previous protégés is the closest DC can come to having Marvel's baseball-hat-wearing executive for themselves.

DC Tried To Get Kevin Feige To Leave Marvel After Multiple Failures

Image by InstarImages.com

However, the long search for DC's Feige did include an attempt to get the man himself. Back in 2018, following the failure of Justice League, WB met with Feige to pitch him on running DC. The meeting was kept top secret for years, only coming to light in 2025 thanks to Wall Street Journal.

Details on Feige's meeting with WB are not known, but it is telling that the studio tried a Hail Mary pitch to steal Marvel's superpower. They had already watched the pairings of Silverman/Snyder and Berg/Johns be unable to recreate the MCU magic with DC. It seems that with them needing a new leader, they figured it was worth gauging Feige's level of interest in making a seismic switch in the superhero movie landscape.

Clearly, Feige rebuked any offer DC made. Given the reported timing, he was in the final stages of wrapping up the Infinity Saga. He could have seriously considered moving on to a new challenge afterward, but that never happened. Perhaps Disney entering talks to acquire 20th Century Fox, giving Feige the X-Men and Fantastic Four, played a role.

DC Has Failed To Give Its Leaders Kevin Feige His Greatest Advantage

Looking back at the turbulent history of DC's leadership, it is striking how short tenures they have mostly had. Silverman had three years, Berg and Johns had less than two years, Hamada had over four years, and Gunn and Safran have lost power after just over four years. In every case, they have not been awarded the same stability as Feige, as most have dealt with larger regime changes at Warner Bros. and corporate mergers.

Feige has been able to remain at the top of Marvel Studios for nearly two decades. There was no rush to get rid of him after The Incredible Hulk made half of Iron Man. By the time Marvel Studios was acquired by Walt Disney Studios, Feige's vision was so established that there was no thought to fire him when films like Thor: The Dark World or Ant-Man hit production issues. Disney even ultimately chose Feige over Ike Perlmutter to ensure Marvel's superboss would stick around.

So, even when the MCU hit some lower points after Avengers: Endgame, there were never calls for Feige to be let go or questions about if Disney would make a change. Every Disney CEO, from Bob Iger to Bob Chapek to Josh D’Amaro, has made sure not to panic at the first sign of trouble at Marvel, which has not been the same for DC's leadership.

All that to say, if Latcham is going to succeed and make the DC Universe that Skydance wants, he will need time and support. The constant changeover at the top of DC has not been good for the final products, and it has diminished faith from audiences that each new franchise will continue for more than a few years. Hopefully, Latcham turns out to be DC's answer to Kevin Feige they've been searching for all this time.