Next week, Paramount and Warner Bros. will officially combine into one mega-studio with a familiar name: Skydance. The deal is expected to close on Tuesday. Together, we are Skydance: a creative-first home for bold, quality storytelling,” CEO David Elllison wrote on X Friday when announcing the new name.
But Ellison’s Skydance Media has been active since 2006, and has a track record of producing primarily franchise titles, action films and streaming fare, though its television slate is somewhat more diverse. Of course franchises like “G.I. Joe” and “Star Trek” will remain a priority for the new studio, but does Skydance’s track record indicate anything about where the new combined studio’s priority will lie?
It seems unlikely that the Warner Bros. label will give up making awards contenders, or that Paramount will abandon rom-coms. But one thing seems to be a given: Ellison is big on crowd-pleasers, action films and familiar franchises, some that are decades-old. Skydance have earned more than $8.7 billion at the global box office, a healthy haul for a relatively small player.
But how will the name translate from a production shingle making a handful of films and shows a year to a massive combined operation that Ellison promises will release at least 30 movies per year? If nothing else, Mark Wahlberg probably doesn’t need to worry about his career prospects for a while. Here are five takeaways from Skydance Media’s earlier films and TV series: Skydance plays favorites, and its favorite favorite is unquestionably Tom Cruise.
Expect more collaborations between the action icon and Ellison, even if “Mission: Impossible” was put to bed (for now). They already have a “Days of Thunder” sequel on the docket. Also, important to note, thousands of Hollywood stars have formally expressed disdain for a combined Paramount-Warner Bros., but Cruise told “The Pat McAfee Show” that he’s confident Skydance is “going to deliver” on its promises of revitalizing the movie business.
Another Skydance favorite is Mark Wahlberg, who led the two “Family Plan” films for the studio. Ryan Reynolds is a frequent collaborator as well, starring in “Mayday,” “The Adam Project” and “6 Underground.” John Krasinski is a Skydance regular. He played the titular superspy across four seasons of “Jack Ryan,” and co-starred with Natalie Portman in “The Fountain of Youth.” The last name to look out for is Arnold Schwarzenegger.
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