The executive picture at the newly combined Paramount-Warner Bros. is coming into focus, and all signs point to current Paramount Motion Picture co-chairs Josh Greenstein and Dana Goldberg taking control of the merged film operation.
According to multiple sources cited by Deadline, Greenstein and Goldberg are expected to run the combined motion picture unit under the newly branded Skydance banner. That would likely leave current Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group chairs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy on the outside, despite the pair having recently extended their contracts through 2030.
Deadline reports that De Luca and Abdy learned through media reports that they were unlikely to make the transition into the new company, and that Paramount co-CEO David Ellison had not personally contacted them about their future.
Discussions may still be underway about some kind of role, but sources indicate the pair were not contracted to report to other film chiefs, making a structure beneath Greenstein and Goldberg unlikely.
A producing deal at the new Skydance has reportedly been discussed.
The timing is especially rough for De Luca and Abdy, with Warner Bros. facing a potentially costly miss in Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s Tom Cruise-led satire Digger, which carries a reported $125 million to $160 million-plus budget and is tracking for a weak global opening.
Still, their tenure has produced a substantial film library for the new company to inherit. Paramount is expected to take control of roughly 71 dated features through 2028, with 56% of those originating from Warner Bros. The combined studio also gains a slate that includes Warner Bros.’ $4.37 billion global box office performance in 2025 and awards players including One Battle After Another, Sinners and Weapons.
Warner Bros./Legendary’s Dune: Part Three also looms as one of the combined company’s biggest upcoming tentpoles.
De Luca and Abdy joined Warner Bros. in 2022 after their run at MGM, where they helped build a slate that included No Time to Die, House of Gucci, Licorice Pizza and Creed III before Amazon acquired MGM for $8.45 billion.
REELated:
Paramount reaches settlement with states, clearing hurdle for $111B Warner Bros. deal
At Warner Bros., the duo developed a reputation for backing filmmaker-driven projects, including Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another and Ryan Coogler’s Sinners. The studio earned 30 Oscar nominations earlier this year, tying a company record, and won 11 Academy Awards.
But 2026 has been more uneven commercially. Warner Bros. has generated $448.4 million domestically through Oct. 1, while Paramount sits just behind it at $429.8 million. Combined, the two studios would have $878.2 million at the North American box office, trailing Universal, Disney and Sony year to date.
The larger leadership structure is expected to be announced in the coming days. Ellison will remain focused on long-term strategy, creative direction, talent relationships, partnerships, technology and capital allocation, while newly named co-CEO Ynon Kreiz will oversee day-to-day operations and integration of the combined company.
Other pieces are already falling into place. Casey Bloys has been tapped to lead streaming across the combined Paramount-Warner Bros. operation, while Cindy Holland is departing. Mark Thompson is expected to remain in charge of CNN.
For the film business, though, the biggest signal is increasingly clear: Greenstein and Goldberg appear set to become the creative center of gravity.
And if that happens, one of Hollywood’s most consequential studio mergers will also trigger one of its biggest executive reshuffles.
