Warner Bros film chiefs set to exit as Paramount merger closes

Warner Bros film chairs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy are expected to leave once Paramount closes its takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery.

The $110 billion merger pact is expected to be finalised on Oct. 6, and the two executives are expected to exit after that closing, according to Variety. The combined Paramount-Warner Bros film unit is then expected to be run by Paramount Motion Picture co-chairs Josh Greenstein and Dana Goldberg, according to Deadline.

De Luca and Abdy have led Warner Bros motion pictures since June 2022. They joined from MGM following Amazon's acquisition of that studio. They later renewed their Warner Bros contracts under Warner Bros. Discovery chief executive David Zaslav through 2030, with terms that had them report directly to the chief executive rather than to other film chairs, according to Deadline.

Greenstein and Goldberg are the current Paramount Motion Picture co-chairs. Under the plan described by trade press, the combined movie studios would release 30 films a year, according to Variety.

They would inherit a full pipeline. Paramount is set to take on about 71 dated features stretching through 2028, with about 56% of that slate developed by Warner Bros under De Luca and Abdy, according to Deadline. Short sentence for scale. Their 2025 Warner Bros slate grossed $4.37 billion globally.

That slate includes Warner Bros and Legendary's Dune: Part Three. It is viewed internally as a year-end holiday tentpole with the potential to gross $1 billion worldwide, a big-budget release designed to anchor the schedule around it.

The film leadership change is part of a wider reshuffle. Former Mattel chief executive Ynon Kreiz was brought in as co-chief executive of Paramount alongside David Ellison. Casey Bloys was tapped as streaming head of the combined Paramount-WBD, with Paramount direct-to-consumer chair Cindy Holland departing, while Mark Thompson will stay on to oversee CNN, according to Deadline. The full executive leadership chart is expected in a matter of days.

Paramount's interest in Warner Bros. Discovery stretches back to September 2025, when it was exploring a bid for all of the company. That earlier interest has now become a closing deal with a date, a price and a new film leadership line-up.

What makes this stand out is continuity against change. Cinema-goers will still see films dated and developed under De Luca and Abdy for two more years, even as Greenstein and Goldberg take charge of what comes next.