The biggest deal in Hollywood history is closing; we round that up with the other Hollywood news.
The Paramount acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery is set to close on Tuesday, after a judge approved the settlements between states that had sued to prevent the acquisition and the company (see “Heads for Closing“). The combined company will be called Skydance, the name of Paramount CEO’s production company prior to its acquisition of Paramount, according to a social media post by CEO David Ellison that also included the video below. Ellison has added Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz, who has held that role since 2018, as co-CEO of the combined companies.
Sony Pictures and Prime Video are close to a deal for a new Spider-Man series based on the Clone Saga storyline from the 1990s, according to Deadline. The new series would replace Spider-Noir, which was canceled after one season, then won five Emmys (see “’Spider-Noir Wins’“). It will be written by Kevin Yu (Bob’s Burgers, American Born Chinese). The Prime Spider-Man series are featuring Ben Reilly (and Kaine Parker) rather than Peter Parker because of rights carveouts, according to the report.
Bradley Cooper will star in the upcoming Paramount G.I. Joe feature film, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Cooper is set to play Duke, who was played by Channing Tatum in the 2009 and 2013 films, according to the report. The film will be written and directed by Danny McBride, who created and starred in HBO’s The Righteous Gemstones (see “McBride Takes on G.I. Joe“).
Warner Bros. is firming up plans for the Game of Thrones feature film it announced earlier this year (see “’Game of Thrones’ Movie“) with a title and release date, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Game of Thrones: Aegon’s Conquest will be released on June 1, 2029 with a storyline about King Aegon I Targaryen’s conquest of Westeros. Owen Harris, who has directed some episodes of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, is set to direct.
Re-releases with extra footage appear to be gaining traction: Sony is reportedly planning to re-release Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which is still in theaters, with additional footage after the initial theatrical run is over, according to Deadline. The additional footage may include scenes shot with Rosario Dawson as Claire Temple, which were cut from the original release. The release of Avengers: Endgame Encore, which added a few minutes of additional footage, topped the weekend box office last week (see “Tops NA B.O.”).
Czech Games Edition has released Codenames Party on Netflix Games, the company announced. The new game, which can be played on smart TVs or web browsers using a phone as controller, introduces Party Mode, a one-against-all competitive format. It was developed by CGE in conjunction with Netflix.Source: ICV2
