Paramount and Warner Bros. merge under Skydance. Here's how it will impact major horror franchises (and more)
Well, it's official. Paramount Skydance has officially taken over Warner Brothers Discovery in a massive $110 billion dollar merger. These are two of the oldest and longest-running studios in Hollywood, and we don't yet fully know the long-term outcomes and repercussions of such a historic deal.
What we do know, however, is that several major horror franchises will now all fall under the same company, which is going to be rebranded under the behemoth Skydance Corporation. Let's look at all of the horror franchises that will now be housed under the same company and what this may mean moving forward, along with some other likely outcomes of the merger.
A new Friday the 13th film may finally move forward due to the Paramount and Warner merger
Friday the 13th has been in legal hell for years. The last movie was the 2009 remake. However, the franchise has new life, including the Crystal Lake prequel series, set to debut on Peacock on Oct. 15. There is a myriad of reasons, however, why a new Friday the 13th movie has been stalled, including major disputes between the initial screenwriter, Victor Miller, and director Sean S. Cunningham. However, another reason has to do with the rights. Paramount owned the rights to the first eight films, while Warner owned the rights to the later movies. Now, the Friday the 13th film library exists under the same company.
With horror so hot right now and a major box office draw, it does seem likely that Skydance will move quickly on a new movie, but they also need the blessing of the Jason Universe, which also has a stake in the rights. However, it seems unlikely they'd hold up any plans for a new movie. For one, slashers are relatively cheap to make, and because there hasn't been a new Friday the 13th in so long, it's likely that it'll do well at the box office. Crystal Lake may be a testing ground to see how well fans respond to new stories in the universe, but there are very few horror franchises as popular as Friday the 13th. Again, it's fairly safe to speculate it'll be a box office draw.
A Nightmare on Elm Street will now fall under Skydance, with a new movie streamlined
Speaking of iconic slashers, A Nightmare on Elm Street has also been stuck in limbo. The last movie was the 2010 remake. In August, we reported on the messy situation with the rights and the fact that two, yes two films were in the works. This had to do with the fact that Paramount landed the rights to create a new movie, with the blessing of Wes Craven's estate. The deal would give Paramount U.S. distribution rights only, however.
Meanwhile, Warner Bros. was plowing forward with a new movie as well because they owned the international distribution rights. Well, now the companies are one, so it's likely they'll streamline the initial Paramount movie. It's hard to say how another Nightmare on Elm Street would do at the box office, especially since it's unlikely Robert Englund would return to play Freddy, due to his age, but the franchise is still huge. We just may see a scenario where we have a Friday the 13th movie and A Nightmare on Elm Street to look forward to on the big screen.
It, The Conjuring, Scream, and other major franchises now fall under Skydance
Besides Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street, several other horror heavyweights will all be under the Skydance umbrella. This includes It and Welcome to Derry, which streams on HBO Max, a Warner Bros. company. Additionally, the Conjuring universe will also be under Skydance. Further, though Spyglass Entertainment owns the intellectual rights to Scream, Paramount handles the distribution, so that's another major franchise now under Skydance.
Wait, there's more. Final Destination, Harry Potter, the DC Universe, Mission Impossible, Top Gun, Transformers, the Matrix movies, and Game of Thrones are all now Skydance properties, too.
Skydance must release dozens of theatrical movies per year and will merge Paramount+ and HBO Max into one streamer
In a press release announcing the finalization of the merger, Skydance confirmed that Paramount+ and HBO Max will merge into a single streamer, but not immediately. They said it will occur over time, with no date given. This does make sense compared to having two separate streamers, but it's unclear how much this will cost consumers.
Finally, as part of the merger, Skydance has to release 30 films theatrically per year, for the first two years, before the number ticks up to 32 theatrical releases a year. Yes, that means plenty of new movies, but hopefully, they won't be slop just to meet a quota. It seems likely Skydance will release horror sequels and spin-offs, since so many major franchises now fall under their purview.
There is a real and understandable concern about media consolidation of this nature and what it means for the short and long-term health of democracy, especially since CBS News and CNN will now be under one company and owned by the Ellison family. There's also the fact that with Warner, Skydance now inherits major debt. David Ellison has already stated layoffs are coming. Additionally, releasing 30 theatrical films a year is a lot, especially when you factor in marketing, publicity, and production costs. But ultimately, the merger has been approved, and it's going to have a massive impact on media consumption and the future of some major horror franchises.
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