Skydance to lead Paramount-Warner Bros. combine as film chiefs exit

The company that will own Paramount and Warner Bros. together is to be called Skydance, chief executive David Ellison has told staff, days before the deal is due to formally close next week, according to Variety.

Skydance will sit above familiar names including Warner Bros., Paramount and HBO. Ellison founded Skydance 20 years ago. It is a simple name for a large organisation.

The name came with a change at the top of the film business. Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group chiefs Pamela Abdy and Michael De Luca are out. That is the team that oversaw Warner Bros. films in cinemas.

Ellison spoke to Abdy and De Luca personally on Friday about their exit. Friday, 2 October, is thought to be their last day on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, California.

Paramount Pictures leaders Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein are set to step up. They will oversee the heads of the individual film labels across both companies, including New Line chief Richard Brener.

There is movement in streaming as well. Paramount+ streaming head Cindy Holland left this week. Casey Bloys, who runs HBO programming, is expected to lead all streaming at Skydance.

For fans, this means the focus now turns to what gets made. Goldberg and Greenstein have already contacted Warner Bros. talent, including Margot Robbie and her LuckyChap producing partners, to talk about staying on.

Work is already under way to lock in a sequel to Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, the 2023 hit that starred Robbie. No deal is signed. But the call matters because sequels need the stars and producers to return.

Other pieces are falling into place. Ynon Kreiz will join as co-chief executive when the deal closes, starting at Paramount effective 5 October, according to a company announcement on PR Newswire. CNN chief Mark Thompson has been asked to stay on after the Warner Bros. deal, Reuters reported on 1 October.

Ellison has previously said the studios will remain in California, in a staff memo reported by Variety on 21 September. The acquisition was earlier valued at $110 billion, Reuters reported in July.

What makes this stand out is speed. New name. New film leadership. A Barbie follow-up in the works. All before the ink is dry.