Skydance CEO David Ellison announced late last week that the new Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery division will be named “Skydance.”
The merger, which took nearly a year to complete and will be finalized Oct. 6, is valued at approximately $111 billion and will create a studio that’s a “creative-first home for bold, quality storytelling,” he said. Ellison, son of Oracle founder Larry Ellison, founded the original Skydance production company in 2006.
“We chose this name for a few important reasons,” Ellison wrote in a post on X last week. “First and foremost, as we bring Paramount and Warner Bros. together, we wanted to preserve what has made each of these studios iconic. Both have distinct identities, extraordinary legacies and brands that have resonated with audiences for generations.”
“We never wanted a new corporate identity to diminish, alter or overshadow either one,” Ellison added. “Instead, we wanted a name that would give the combined company an identity of its own while allowing Paramount and Warner Bros. — and all our extraordinary brands — to remain in the spotlight.”
A federal judge gave the green light to the merger last week with Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín calling the deal a "reasonable factual and legal resolution" while rejecting objections seeking broader restrictions."
The merger has its share of opponents, not the least from Hollywood, where actor Mark Ruffalo called the move "incredibly disappointing," and warned that creativity and people’s livelihoods will be threatened.
"This merger will stifle creativity, weaken free speech, and cost people their jobs—it is a bad deal for this country and should never have been approved," Ruffalo wrote in a post on X.
"This is an incredibly disappointing outcome for the hundreds of thousands of us who stood up to block it, but it's also not the end," he continued. "This grassroots movement isn't going to fade away and neither is our resolve. This was never about just one merger: this was about fighting back against corrupt oligarch billionaires trampling the interests of everyday people to line their own pockets."
Ellison will probably have more immediate concerns when the merger is completed this week, given the disastrous debut of Warner Bros.’ “Digger” movie this weekend. Despite its Tom Cruise star power the film—estimated to have cost upwards of $250 million when taking marketing into account—only grossed $8 million domestically and international box office of only $12 million.
