David Ellison Calls Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy to Fire Them

Key Points:

• Warner Bros film chiefs Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy were informed by Skydance CEO David Ellison that they would not join the new merged Warner-Paramount studio and their upcoming film slate would be reassigned.
• The executives, who had led Warner Bros to recent critical and box office successes including an Oscar-winning year in 2025, were reportedly upset by the manner of their exit and were not offered production deals.
• The merged company, burdened with approximately $80 billion in debt, is restructuring its leadership, with deputies Jesse Ehrman and Mike Ireland temporarily handling De Luca and Abdy’s film slates, while Josh Greenstein and Dana Goldberg are expected to lead the combined studios.
• Warner Bros’ future film slate includes anticipated blockbusters like “The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum,” “The Batman Part II,” and “Gremlins 3,” despite recent box office struggles such as the underperformance of the Tom Cruise film “Digger.”
• De Luca and Abdy’s last day is expected to coincide with the official merger completion on Tuesday, with both executives and Paramount/Skydance declining to comment on the situation.