Paramount backs James Gunn's 10-year DC plan — his contract reportedly ends before Man of Tomorrow opens
Superman was a hit, Supergirl is set to lose at least $85 million, and the sequel opening on 9 July 2027 now has to settle the argument for DC's new owner.
DC Studios co-chief Peter Safran told IGN this week that the studio's film and TV slate is on track after Paramount Skydance completed its takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery on 6 October. New owner David Ellison, he said, backs the long-term vision and intends to give DC the resources to deliver it. James Gunn went a step further on the Clayface red carpet, telling The Hollywood Reporter that Ellison had already been walked through the basic plan, including where the story goes after Man of Tomorrow.
"David knows everything."
— James Gunn, to The Hollywood Reporter at the Clayface premiere
Lovely sentiments, both of them. They're also exactly what a new owner's studio says in week two, when the slate is already paid for and the first release under the new regime, the $40 million Clayface, opens on 23 October.
Praise costs Paramount Skydance nothing. A contract would cost it something, and there isn't a new one yet.
The date that wasn't in the interview
According to Bloomberg, Ellison visited the Man of Tomorrow set during filming, listened to Gunn and Safran pitch their 10-year plan for the DCU and backed it. The same report says both men's contracts expire in April 2027. No extension has been announced. Line the dates up and it looks less like a decade and more like a deadline:
- 6 October 2026: Paramount Skydance closes the deal; Gunn and Safran stay on as co-chairs of DC Studios.
- 23 October 2026: Clayface, the first DC film under the new owner.
- April 2027: the co-chairs' contracts reportedly run out.
- 9 July 2027: Man of Tomorrow, written and directed by Gunn, opens in cinemas.
Read more: The Batman Part II is paused but still dated 2028 — even Batman won't vouch for it
So the 10-year plan comes up for renewal about three months before its biggest exam. Safran himself said earlier this year that the proper conversation about "the next part of the story" would happen once Gunn is done with Man of Tomorrow. Officially, the decade starts after one film.
One film is the whole plan
The track record so far is a split decision. Superman made $618.7 million worldwide in 2025 on a reported $225 million budget, a solid if unspectacular reboot. Supergirl followed this summer on a $170 million budget and, by TheWrap's reckoning, will lose the studio at least $85 million. One hit, one flop, and a sequel that has to settle the argument.
Over on r/boxoffice, the most upvoted reply to Safran's interview said the quiet part out loud:
"If MoT performs well, they'll stay the course, if not, they'll change tack."
That isn't cynicism, it's how ownership works. Ellison inherited this slate, praised it, and will get to decide on it in the same season as its opening weekend. The thread's runner-up comment was blunter still: Man of Tomorrow, "that will be the real test".
Fair enough. A Superman film on 9 July 2027 is a far clearer exam than any slide deck pitched on a film set, and the new owner is under no obligation to grade on effort.
Paramount Skydance hasn't bought a 10-year plan. It has bought an option on one, and the option runs out in April.
The rumour mill has already started putting Zack Snyder's name back in the frame under the new management, which says more about the rumour mill than about Ellison. But the mechanics are real. If Man of Tomorrow lands, Gunn gets his decade and, presumably, a contract to match. If it doesn't, DC fans will be told to forget everything they've just watched. Again.