The Skydance merger will bring Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery under a parent company called Skydance when the deal closes, David Ellison announced on 2 October. The reveal came with a trailer built around the two studios’ film and television catalogue. The official Paramount announcement and IGN’s trailer report describe the name and its first promotional reel. The deal is expected to close on 6 October, Variety reports.
The announcement follows the merger’s final court hurdle, covered by tbreak earlier this week.
Skydance merger: one parent, separate studio identities
The Skydance merger introduces an umbrella name, not a replacement for the Paramount and Warner Bros. studio brands. Ellison said the new corporate identity was chosen to give the merged business its own name while keeping both studios’ identities intact.
“We never wanted a new corporate identity to diminish, alter or overshadow either one.”
David Ellison, official announcement
That leaves the studio labels in place for the films and series they make. The new name sits above them at company level; the announcement does not describe a change to the franchises themselves.
What the Skydance trailer shows
The trailer moves through footage from properties associated with both libraries. IGN says the reel includes Batman, Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, Titanic, The Godfather, Star Trek and more. Its closing card places Skydance alongside a spread of the group’s entertainment brands.
The official announcement from Ellison carries the trailer. The new corporate name also brings together two studios, their streaming services and television networks including CBS, CNN, MTV and Food Network; Variety lists HBO Max and Paramount+ as separate services in the combined group. The announcement sets out the parent identity but gives no timetable for changes to those streaming services.
Does the Skydance merger mean HBO Max and Paramount+ are becoming one service?
The announcement does not say that. Variety identifies HBO Max and Paramount+ as separate services in the combined group, and Ellison’s new-name statement gives no timetable for changing or combining them.
What was Skydance before this deal?
TechCrunch describes Skydance as David Ellison’s original film production company. The merger elevates that existing company name to the parent brand while Warner Bros. and Paramount keep their own studio identities.
