The merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. was finalized today. The resulting monstrosity has been rebranded as Skydance Corp. Just a cute little corp., dancing in the sky, that now owns everything from CBS and HBO to Superman and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It’s never been easier to put them all in the same fighting game, though gaming was nowhere in sight in the company’s press release.
Instead, it talked about combining the “storied history of two of the world’s most recognizable entertainment companies” in order to deliver “enhanced output commitments” powered by “creative-first,” “tech-forward” thinking anchored by “disciplined execution” and “widening choice for consumers across every entertainment vertical.” Skydance Corp. chairman David Ellison, the son of the eighth-richest man in the world, promised “at least $6 billion in run-rate synergies within three years.” Inspiring.
Never forget that David Ellison’s Skydance Media was originally created so he could be an actor.
Skydance’s first film was ‘Flyboys’ starring James Franco and… David Ellison. David and his daddy invested $60m to make Flyboys.
It grossed $17m
Here’s a bit of David’s acting: pic.twitter.com/NjCWQiMa12
— Sean Morrow (@snmrrw) October 6, 2026
The journey began with the formation of Skydance Media back in 2006, whose first movie was Flyboys starring James Franco and, you guessed it, David Ellison. The future media tycoon played a thief who became a World War I pilot to evade the law. The critically panned box-office flop ended with his character leaving the military to start a flying circus. Exactly 20 years later, that IRL circus bought Warner Bros. for $110 billion.
The combined entity now owns a truly hard-to-fathom list of linear cable channels, streaming platforms, franchises, and movie distribution rights. No one quite knows what it’s all supposed to amount to, other than giving Skydance a run at outcompeting Netflix through the combined content offerings across its future streaming bundles. At least the other rich guys want to put data centers in space that might cure cancer someday. Ellison’s big ambition is to just be collecting media brands like Pokémon cards.
David Ellison has shown an official graphic of everything Skydance will own after acquiring Warner Bros and Paramount.
Assets:
• TNT
• CBS
• CNN
• MTV
• TCM
• Showtime
• Adult Swim
• DC Studios
• Paramount+
• Nickelodeon
• HBO/HBO Max
• Comedy Central
• Cartoon… pic.twitter.com/O1OEIJSlm6— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) October 2, 2026
Now come the layoffs. No point in beating around the bush. Everyone knows massive mergers mean massive cuts. “Integrating two companies will bring change, including difficult decisions that affect our workforce,” Ellison and co-CEO Ynon Kreiz wrote in a memo to staff. “We are committed to handling this process thoughtfully and respectfully.” Kreiz spent the last eight years as the CEO of the toy company Mattel. Three years later, the repercussions of the Barbie movie continue to ripple outward.
Big cost savings will be needed to address the incredible leverage of the newly formed company due to all of Warner Bros.’ existing debt and the money needed to finance the takeover. All of it is ultimately backstopped by Ellison’s dad, who is on the hook for $40 billion, even as his own company, Oracle, levers itself up as part of the AI data center race. Fitch Ratings was not impressed. It downgraded the new entity due to “materially higher leverage after the acquisition and significant execution and integration risks.” How else do they think flying circuses get off the ground?
