Batman, Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter Appear in First Trailer for Skydance, the New Parent Company of Merged Warner Bros. and Paramount

After the merger, Warner Bros., the company behind Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and Game of Thrones, will become a sub-brand of Skydance alongside Paramount.

The historic film and TV studios are being combined by David Ellison, with financial backing from his billionaire father Larry Ellison, in a deal valued at $110 billion. This follows a hostile bid for Warner Bros. last year and persists despite various regulatory hurdles that have sought to block the deal in the U.S. and internationally. Concerns have been raised that the merger could result in thousands of job losses due to corporate consolidation, give the Ellison family control over a significant portion of Hollywood, and potentially jeopardize the independence of news networks like CNN.

However, opposition to the deal has largely faded, and with the merger's completion seemingly imminent, Ellison has confirmed that "Skydance" will be the name of his soon-to-be massive entertainment empire. The Warner Bros. and Paramount brands will still be retained for their respective divisions.

A flashy new trailer for Skydance has also been released, highlighting the vast array of Warner Bros. and Paramount intellectual property that Skydance will control, including DC Comics, Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter franchises.

"What once was the peak, is now just the beginning. Paramount and Warner Bros. shaped over a century of culture. By combining them, we aren't rewriting history — we're equipping these iconic studios with a more powerful engine. Together, we are Skydance: a creative-first home for…"

"These brands are more than a destination, they are the launch pad," a voiceover in the trailer declares, in a script that sounds like it was written by an AI. "They don't just live on screens, they move through culture. Each one, distinct. Built on story. Driven by technology. A new center of gravity. A constellation. A shared vision to go beyond. Look up. What once was the peak, is now just the beginning."

Whatever that's supposed to mean, the trailer includes clips from notable WB and Paramount movies and TV series such as Inception, Titanic, Superman, Barbie, Minecraft, The Godfather, The Sopranos, Star Trek, The Matrix, Game of Thrones, The Shawshank Redemption, Casablanca, A Star is Born, Grease, Sinners, Forrest Gump, Dune, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, The Great Gatsby, and Euphoria.

A selection of brand logos shown at the end of the trailer highlights that Skydance will own Paramount, WB, DC Comics, CNN, Paramount+, CBS, Nickelodeon, and HBO Max, plus MTV, TCM, Showtime, Adult Swim, Comedy Central, Cartoon Network, Eurosport, Miramax, NewLine Cinema, Animal Planet, the UK's Channel 5, and many, many more.

The deal that will cement ownership of all this under Skydance is now expected to close on October 6, the companies have said.