Warner Bros Reups DC & 'Conjuring' Producer Peter Safran To New Deal

EXCLUSIVE: Peter Safran, the $4.4 billion-grossing producer of several Warner Bros/DC movies as well as The Conjuring, the highest-grossing horror franchise of all time, has re-upped with the Burbank, CA lot for another three years.

Safran has been a linchpin on many Warner Bros/DC titles including the comic book label’s highest-grossing one, Aquaman, at $1.15 billion worldwide and its upcoming sequel Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom set for Christmas 2023. He has also produced Shazam ($366M) and its upcoming sequel Shazam: Fury of the Gods (March 17) along with Blue Beetle (due August 18, 2023).

‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ — ‘Shazam: Fury of the Gods’ Warner Bros.

In the wake of DC Films president Walter Hamada’s departure from the lot, there was buzz that Safran could take on that position, which entails overseeing and exploiting the DC universe through features and TV. That is not the case as The Safran Company has renewed its production deal and will continue to be an important part of building out DC.

Safran is currently producing The Nun 2, in production over in Europe, the sequel to the highest-grossing title in the Conjuring universe, The Nun ($365.5M in worldwide box office) and due out on September 8 next year. Altogether, The Safran Company has four theatrical releases scheduled for 2023.

John Rickard will continue as President of Production at The Safran Company. Despite the onslaught of Covid, company has continued to make movies. During the pandemic, it had The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It and James Gunn’s Suicide Squad released in theaters and on HBO Max.

In addition to The Safran Company’s footprint at Warners, they also have the Idris Elba-John Cena action feature Heads of State in the works at Amazon Studios.

Also returning for a second season with Safran as EP is HBO Max’s Peacemaker, the spinoff series to James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad. The Gunn created series is also one of the OTT service’s most watched.

Safran cut his teeth in the business as a manager at Gold-Miller before segueing to Brillstein Grey where he was president. He left Brillstein-Grey in 2006 to launch The Safran Company, and took his entire client list with him. As manager, he represented Sean Combs, Adam Shankman, David Hyde Pierce and Jennifer Lopez.

The Safran Company inked a first-look with Warner Bros three years ago. No further details were disclosed about the renewal.