movies
David Ellison Says Skydance Will Make Original Swings Like ‘Sinners’
In August of last year, security was tight on the Paramount lot as David Ellison hosted a meet-and-greet with the press to show off his throne as a newly minted media mogul.
Less than fourteen months later, it was deja vu as Ellison repeated the exercise, this time to tout the $110 billion worth of additional Hollywood territory he had conquered with Tuesday’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, putting him and his team at the helm of storied assets such as the Warner Bros. film studio, HBO, CNN and DC.
They join Paramount Pictures, Paramount+, CBS and a slew of cable brands already under Ellison’s purview, making his Skydance a company he believes can compete on the scale with the likes of Netflix and Disney, even as it is saddled with $80 billion in debt.
Ellison said that the combined companies will spend more on content than any other company in the world. “More than Disney, more than Netflix,” he said.
Asked about balancing making original creative swings in the face of the company’s debt, he pointed to Warner Bros. Sinners as his favorite movie of 2025, and said Skydance will not only focus on franchises, which have been Ellison’s bread and butter as a producer, but also on things audiences haven’t seen before.
“You absolutely will see us tell original stories,” Ellison said.
Among those not staying on at Skydance are Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy, the Warner Bros. film chiefs who oversaw Sinners and other major hits, but who also presided over risky bombs like last weekend’s Diggers. Skydance motion picture group’s Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein will oversee both film studios.
Ellison, the son of Oracle founder Larry Ellison, was joined by former Mattel boss Ynon Kreiz, his new co-CEO. Kreiz offered insight into how the two movie studios would operate as one.
“The plan is to keep the studios independently creatively, so each studio will have its own slate, its own relationship, its own opportunities. Then we will choreograph the release schedule to optimize for genre and audience demographic to achieve for the company as a whole,” said Kreiz.
Kreiz said that both the Warners and Paramount lots will remain open for business, but eventually one will be the home primarily to film and the other primarily the home to TV and streaming. Both Ellison and Kreiz will maintain offices on both lots, and plan to spend about 50 percent of their time on each. Though at first, they will likely spend more time at Warners as it gets up and running.
Ellison also acknowledged that the buildup to the merger sparked backlash from some in the creative community. “This was a turbulent process, and at times an ugly process,” said Ellison. “There were significant emotions, and I really respect the people who were apprehensive about this. What I want to do now is turn the page, and make sure we are in the business of building trust.”
He said that he appreciated those in the creative community who supported the merger, and added that he would like to win the trust of those who opposed it by following through on promises such as releasing 30 movies a year between the studios and keeping CNN and CBS News editorially separate.
Ellison said, “No one company has produced 30 films a year at the quality we are hoping to achieve. One of the areas you will see us be very cautious about is doing anything to jeopardize the quality of those pictures.”
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movies
Michael Johnston Teases “Incredible Queer” Project
Coming off his breakout role this year, Michael Johnston is teasing what’s next.
The Obsession star, who is openly gay, recently teased an upcoming role in “a really incredibly queer story,” which includes a “steamy moment” on screen for LGBTQ fans.
“There will be a really incredible queer story in my future, and I’m so excited to play it and to have my steamy moment,” Johnston told Attitude.
Johnston previously noted that after the success of Obsession, he’s able to “choose what I want to do,” explaining that he’s “definitely looking forward to playing a really intentional queer role, story that’s really meaningful.”
Following his 2015-’17 run as Corey Bryant on MTV’s Teen Wolf, Johnston recalled he “still wasn’t comfortable with my sexuality at the time, but I had no idea the impact that just being myself and playing this character authentically would have. I got thousands of messages from people thanking me and telling me how they feel better about themselves. They were able to come out to their parents.
“The impact that I made just from doing something that scared me and being brave… and not only that was really cool, but also kind of helped me learn how to accept myself, so that’s something I’m really looking forward to,” added Johnston. “I don’t know, maybe I’ll write it myself.”
Johnston, who made his breakout performance as the toxically hopeless romantic Bear in Curry Barker’s Obsession, has most recently been in talks to join Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz in the upcoming fourth installment of The Mummy.
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movies
Skydance & The Warner Bros: Films That Are Ready, In The Works Or On Fire
Heavy hang the heads who wear the crowns, and that goes for Skydance Pictures Co-Chairs Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein, who’ll be tasked with getting under the hood and tuning up the incoming Warner Bros. theatrical 2027-2029 slates.
The first fire to put out: ensuring that Barbie 2 becomes a reality with its original franchise director Greta Gerwig and leads Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. There are other projects to look at as well, read the Jonah Hill directed reportedly finished comedy The Cut Off which was originally dated against The Odyssey this year and then undated. What’s up with that movie?
One of the next big auteur swings greenlit by the previous regime was director Baz Luhrmann’s next project Jehanne d’Arc. The director is currently waiting on a new draft of the script in hopes of a spring start.
While we’ve told you about the dated titles that Warners is delivering to the new Skydance, some of these are in various forms of production and development, read: the Sept. 8, 2028 dated New Line Weapons prequel, Gladys. That one is awaiting a final draft before attaching a director.
Going back to the desert days of Hollywood, it’s prime for any new administration to go through the previous regimes’ pickings and determine whether there are horses still worth getting behind. This went on when Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy arrived at Warner Bros. in June 2022 (the shot Batgirl was shelved, while WBD CEO David Zaslav wrote down and sold Coyote vs. Acme) and it occurred when Goldberg and Greenstein arrived at Paramount in the late summer of 2025 (read: one of the most prolific projects from the previous Brian Robbins regime which didn’t move to a greenlight was was the R-Rated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Last Ronin. In exchange, a new live-action feature of the sword carrying reptiles is in the works aimed at families).
And despite the recent bomb that is Warners’ $160M Tom Cruise political satire, Digger, Skydance co-CEO David Ellison says he’s not anti-big swing. At Tuesday’s Day One Skydance presser, he reminded everyone that Sinners was his favorite movie from last year.
In addition to franchises, “We’re going to make a complete diverse slate,” asserted Ellison. “One of the things I’m a big believer in is original storytelling.”
“One of the areas to be very cautious about is doing anything that jeopardizes the quality of these pictures, and anything that would jeopardize the quality of the marketing campaigns,” said Ellison, who believes that there’s a way for this two-headed monster of a studio to win, specifically the pro-forma content spend of $30 billion-plus annually, despite the burden of $79B in net debt.
Those are hard numbers for some financial analysts to wrap their heads around, but Ellison and his new co-CEO Ynon Kriez are out to prove to the town that their anomaly of a merger can indeed keep both legacy studios alive and grow product while paying down debt. While co-financing is always a solution, particularly on risky bets, it remains to be seen whether the new Paramount-Warner Bros. sometimes takes the easy way out. How’s that? Rather than risk a $300M feature gamble in production cost and marketing, will they simply accept the stage AGs’ penalties and shell out $30M for any film they’re unable to deliver in a 30-picture slate? It’s a cheaper alternative.
Ellison also underscored yesterday that when he took the reigns of Paramount a year ago, they overdelivered on synergies with $2.7B while doubling the slate to 15 films annually and greenlighting four new series.
For the many who feared the consolidation of the two historic studios, what should come as some balm is that with Warner Bros operating separately from Paramount Pictures under Jesse Ehrman and Mike Ireland, the two studios will respectively be able to compete against each other on projects.
“But there will be coordination,” emphasized Kriez in that regard.
He expounded, “The plan is to keep the studios independent creatively, so that each will have its own slate, its own relationship, same opportunities, and then we will choreograph the release schedule, and optimize it by genre and by audience demographic to achieve the best for the company as a whole.”
While we’ve told you what has been dated before, below is a sampling based on our previous reports of the kit and caboodle that’s coming Goldberg and Greenstein’s way. We’ve sussed what is ready and real on the 2027 and 2028 slates. Excluded from this list are myriad lit acquisitions made during the previous De Luca and Abdy regime.
PRIORITY
Barbie 2
Ideally Greta Gerwig return to direct and co write with Noah Baumbach and Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling returning to star in a sequel to Warner Bros’ highest grossing movie ever at $1.44B.
FINISHED (or nearing finish for release).
Clayface (Oct. 23) (DC)
The Cat in the Hat (Nov. 6)
Cut Off
Jonah Hill directed comedy which he stars in with Kristin Wiig
Dune: Part Three (Dec. 18)
Animal Friends (Jan. 22, 2027)
Remain (Feb. 5, 2027)
M. Night Shyamalan just screened at BeyondFest.
Panic Carefully (April 9, 2027)
F.A.S.T (May 14, 2027)
POST-PRODUCTION
The Revenge of La Llorona (Feb. 27, 2027)
Godzilla x Kong: Supernova (March 26, 2027)
Bad Fairies (May 21, 2027)
Man of Tomorrow (July 9, 2027)
-James Gunn’s sequel to Superman.
A Minecraft Movie Squared (July 23, 2027)
Jared Hess returns to direct.
Shiver (Aug. 13)
The Conjuring: First Communion (Sept. 10, 2027)
The Great Beyond (Oct. 1, 2027)
-J.J. Abrams’ Glen Powell and Jenna Ortega original sci-fi film.
Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum (Dec. 17, 2027 release)
-Directed by Andy Serkis off a screenplay by Philippa Boyens, Fran Walsh, Peter Jackson, Phoebe Gittens and Arty Papageorgiou.
Evil Dead Wrath (April 7, 2028)
IN PRODUCTION
Untitled Ocean’s Prequel (June 25, 2027)
-Bradley Cooper co-wrote, directs, produces and stars alongside Margot Robbie, who produces via LuckyChap.
Margie Claus (Nov. 12, 2027)
Untitled Nancy Meyers Movie (Dec. 25, 2027)
-Nancy Meyers directing from her own script
-Owen Wilson, Jude Law, Kieran Culkin and Erin Doherty star
The Batman Part II (Feb. 18, 2028) (DC)
Matt Reeves directed production is paused.
The Lunar Chronicles (Nov. 3, 2028)
animated
Oh, the Places You’ll Go! (May 17, 2028)
Jon Chu’s animated feature take of the classic Dr. Seuss children’s book.
Hello Kitty (July 21, 2028)
animated
Dynamic Duo (Sept. 22, 2028) (DC)
animation with puppets
PRE-PRODUCTION
Final Destination 7 (New Line) (May 12, 2028)
Michael Blanchart directing.
–Nasty (Clockwork)
Mary Bronstein directed Jenna Ortega and Rose Byrne off Isabella Jarosz screenplay. LuckyChap producing.
Sean Baker’s Ti Amo! (Clockwork)
Jehanne d’Arc (Nov. 22, 2028)
-Baz Luhrmann directing
-Schuyler Weiss and Catherine Martin producing. Currently awaiting next draft.
GREENLIT
By previous administration
Gremlins 3 (Oct. 6, 2028)
Chris Columbus directing. Awaiting rewrites.
The Jetsons Live-Action Movie
-Jim Carrey starring
-Colin Trevorrow attached to direct
Sean Penn’s Untitled January 6th Movie (Clockwork)
-Penn writing, directing and producing
-Bradley Cooper to star
The Brigands of Rattle Creek (Clockwork)
Park Chan-Wook domestic acquisition
GREENLIGHT CANDIDATES (or nearing):
The Flood (Aug. 2028)
Zach Cregger’s next movie with New Line starring Jennifer Lawrence.
Gladys (Weapons prequel set for Sept. 8, 2028)
In rewrites
Matrix 5 – Drew Goddard writing. (a 2029 release candidate)
DEVELOPMENT
Attack of the Fifty-Foot Woman Reimagining
-Tim Burton directing
Blow Up the Chat
– Temple Hill producing
Care Bears
-Josh Greenbaum directing
-Good Fear, GoldDay producing
City of Angels Reboot
-Ashley Avis writing and directing
-Atlas Entertainment, Perez Pictures producing
Constantine 2
The Executioner
-Peter Safran producing
Forbidden Planet
-Emma Watts producing
Frank Bullitt Movie
-Steven Spielberg directing
Game of Thrones: Aegon’s Conquest (June 1, 2029)
The Goonies 2
-Steven Spielberg, Kristie Macosko Krieger, Holly Bario and Chris Columbus producing
Live-Action Hot Wheels Movie
– Bad Robot and Jon M. Chu’s Electric Somewhere producing
Last Friday
– Ice Cube starring
Meerkat Manor (Warner Bros. Pictures Animation)
– The Green Room producing
Shibumi
-87North producing
Space Invaders (New Line)
– Weed Road Pictures, Safehouse Pictures producing
Them! Remake
-Michael Giacchino directing
EARLY DEVELOPMENT
Batman Brave and the Bold (DC)
Crazy Rich Asians 2
Savage Hunters aka Deathstroke & Bane Movie (DC)
Live-Action Flintstones reboot
-Ryan Gosling’s Open Invite producing
Free Willy Reimagining
-AGBO producing
Get Smart Reboot
-John Mulaney to star
– Charles Roven and Andrew Lazar producing
The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past
– Stephen Colbert, Philippa Boyens and Peter McGee writing
Prehistoria (Warner Bros. Pictures Animation)
– Vivienne Medrano writing and directing
Powerpuff Girls
Live-Action Teen Titans (DC)
Swamp Thing (DC)
Wonder Woman reboot (DC)
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movies
How ‘Chicago Fire’ Star Dermot Mulroney Exits Series
The following reveals major plot points from tonight’s Chicago Fire Season 15 premiere.
NBC‘s Chicago Fire returned tonight with its fifteenth-season premiere, picking up after an intense Season 14 finale that left most of 51’s best with their lives on the line. While the team survived mostly unscathed, the series is looking different as showrunner Victor Teran takes the helm.
At the end of July, we confirmed the news that Dermot Mulroney would be leaving the hit series after two seasons playing Battalion Chief Dominic “Dom” Pascal. While Dom’s arrival was a bit rocky for 51, the evolution of the character really won the hearts of fans and show characters alike.
I can confirm Mulroney’s final episode was tonight’s premiere, however, the creators and writers of the show do like to surprise us now and then with appearances every now and again. Like Eamonn Walker, who portrayed Wallace Boden across the show’s first 12 seasons, made a guest appearance in Season 13.
Teran spoke to Deadline recently about the new season, and saying goodbye to Mulroney.
“We only have the one episode with him I’m sad to report. It’s just the premiere. But he plays a very critical role. We had a very hard task when when Boden left. Filling his shoes was going to be an impossible task. Dermot came in and did this incredible job, and provided a bridge to what the future is going to be,” Teran shared.
He continued, “For the first time in 15 seasons, there’s not going to be a Chief in the house. Severide [Taylor Kinney] is really going to be leading things, and that’s a new thing. We’ve been thinking about that for a while, and so we needed to close out Dermot to to give space for that.”
In the premiere of Season 15, it was also confirmed that Severide had chosen the job of Chief of Firehouse 51 over the inspector job that was also offered. However, he continues to wear his fire inspector hat, albeit privately, while trying to help Joe (Joe Minoso) prove his innocence following accusations he played a role in the Season 14 finale fire. In Dom’s last moments on the show, he gives Severide advice about treading lightly between his two passions or risk facing major consequences.
Following the news that Mulroney would be leaving Chicago Fire, he shared a statement.
“Loved every minute of it. Became friends with this incredible crew of people,” Mulroney said at a fan convention.
Mulroney also acknowledged the “incredible cast” he worked with and noted that they gave him “incredibly challenging scenes” throughout his time on the show.
Further, the actor said “they write the character off,” adding, “We gave it our all for two seasons.”
Mulroney was also a series regular on the Netflix drama series The Hunting Wives, playing Jed Banks. Mulroney revealed in May that production had concluded on the show’s second season, and yesterday, The Hunting Wives was renewed for a third season yesterday ahead of the Season 2 premiere. He also recently booked roles in two films: Moon People and the action pic Streets.
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