What happens when you mash up Warner Bros. and Paramount into one giant entertainment company? You get Skydance, and its first trailer is here to show off the spoils.
The newly named parent company, led by David Ellison and backed by his billionaire dad Larry Ellison, is putting the finishing touches on a $110 billion merger that will see Warner Bros. and Paramount become sub-brands under the Skydance umbrella. The deal, which followed a hostile bid for WB last year, has faced regulatory hurdles in the U.S. and abroad, but opposition has largely melted away. Now, the companies say the merger is expected to close on October 6.
In the meantime, Skydance dropped a bombastic trailer highlighting the vast intellectual property it will control. The clip features iconic franchises like DC Comics, Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter, plus footage from movies and shows such as Inception, Titanic, Superman, Barbie, Minecraft, The Godfather, The Sopranos, Star Trek, The Matrix, Game of Thrones, The Shawshank Redemption, Casablanca, A Star is Born, Grease, Sinners, Forrest Gump, Dune, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, The Great Gatsby, and Euphoria.
"These brands are more than a destination, they are the launch pad," a voiceover intones. "They don't just live on screens, they move through culture. Each one, distinct. Built on story. Driven by technology. A new center of gravity. A constellation. A shared vision to go beyond. Look up. What once was the peak, is now just the beginning." Sounds like it was written by an AI, but okay.
The trailer ends with a wall of logos that Skydance will own: Paramount, WB, DC Comics, CNN, Paramount+, CBS, Nickelodeon, HBO Max, MTV, TCM, Showtime, Adult Swim, Comedy Central, Cartoon Network, Eurosport, Miramax, NewLine Cinema, Animal Planet, the UK's Channel 5, and many more. That's a lot of your favorite channels and streaming services under one roof.
Of course, not everyone is thrilled. Concerns have been raised about potential job losses from corporate consolidation, the Ellison family's huge control over Hollywood, and risks to the independence of news networks like CNN. But with the merger nearly complete, it looks like Skydance is ready to take the reins.
What do you think of this mega-merger? Will it lead to better content or just more of the same? Let us know in the comments.
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