Batman Meets the Transformers: What’s Happening With All the IP Skydance Now Controls

In Tim Burton’s classic 1989 “Batman,” Jack Nicholson’s Joker marveled at Batman as he escaped using the batarang and asked, “Where does he get those wonderful toys?” For Skydance co-CEO David Ellison, the answer is Warner Bros. He spent a year chasing Warner Bros. Discovery, and now the former “Flyboys” actor and tech scion has more famous IP than anyone else in Hollywood. The Joker is one of them. The deal, which closed earlier this month, put two century-old studios in the same building. Paramount and Warner Bros. still keep separate apartments, but they now share a landlord. Batman, Superman and the rest of the Justice League now live under the same roof with Optimus Prime and the G.I. Joes. Harry Potter and the Targaryens live down the hall from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and SpongeBob SquarePants. Captain Kirk has got a nice pad in there too. Not all of it belongs to Ellison as “Transformers” and “G.I. Joe” belong to toy company Hasbro, and video game company Sega owns the “Sonic the Hedgehog” franchise. Paramount licenses the film rights to make movies. The IP the company does own outright is DC, “Star Trek,” “Mission: Impossible,” “Top Gun,” the Ninja Turtles and SpongeBob. The question for Ellison and his co-CEO Ynon Kreiz is how they’ll capitalize on this treasure trove of IP to supercharge a business saddled with $80 billion in debt. HBO’s “Harry Potter” series is set to drop this Christmas. “Man of Tomorrow,” DC Studios’ next big swing and the follow-up to James Gunn’s “Superman,” opens next summer, and Matt Reeves’ “The Batman: Part II” will open in February 2028. On the Paramount side, Steven Spielberg has returned to Teletraan-1 to oversee the creative on “Transformers 8,” with Michael Bay in early talks to return as director of a franchise that has gone stale despite a lifetime global gross of more than $5.4 billion. Danny McBride is breathing much-needed new life into “G.I. Joe” with Bradley Cooper set to lead as Duke. McBride has his eye on a couple of big-name pals to join him as well. Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein, who co-run the Skydance Motion Picture Group, oversee both legacy studios. In their first year at Skydance, the duo nearly doubled its output, from eight releases in 2025 to 15 this year, with at least another 16 planned for 2027. But can they double things again with a mandate to release 30 films a year — many of them featuring Paramount and WB’s valuable IP? Here’s what Skydance now controls, studio by studio, and the status of each piece of IP. “Top Gun: Maverick” (Paramount) Paramount In terms of which Paramount IP seems like the surest bet, it is clearly the IP that the studio actually owns. Top Gun: “Top Gun: Maverick” grossed nearly $1.5 billion worldwide in 2022, and a third film is in the works with a script from Ehren Kruger, who co-wrote “Maverick” with Eric Warren Singer and Christopher McQuarrie. Tom Cruise is also reuniting with Jerry Bruckheimer on “Days of Thunder 2,” the legacy sequel to his 1990 NASCAR drama “Days of Thunder” that will co-star Anne Hathaway. Paramount has set a June 2, 2028 theatrical release date for that film, so any potential “Top Gun 3” is still years away. World War Z: Paramount Pictures is finally moving forward with a sequel to “World War Z,” with Brad Pitt set to star and “Conclave” filmmaker Edward Berger set to direct. A Quiet Place: John Krasinski’s “A Quiet Place Part III” is slated to be released on July 30, 2027. Star Trek: John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein are writing, producing and attached to direct a wholly original “Star Trek” film. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: “The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” have been owned by Nickelodeon since 2009, and the studio is working on both the animation and hybrid/live-action sides of the franchise. “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem 2” from Seth Rogen’s Point Grey Pictures is set for 2027. On the heels of producing Paramount and Sega’s “Sonic the Hedgehog” series, veteran producer Neal H. Moritz will produce a new hybrid live-action “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” movie for the studio. Scream and Scary Movie: On the horror side, Spyglass Media Group’s “Scream 7” opened to $64.1 million domestically in February, a franchise record, on a budget of about $45 million. Four months later, the Wayans brothers’ returned to the “Scary Movie” franchise and the film did good business, opening to $54 million on a $30 million budget, the best start that series ever had. Paranormal Activity: Paramount will release the “Untitled James Wan Paranormal Activity” movie on May 21, 2027. Rising horror writer/director Ian Tuason is set to direct the Blumhouse-Atomic Monster feature. This new movie will be the eighth installment in the series. Transformers and G.I. Joe: On the licensed toys front, Spielberg’s “Transformers 8” is the top priority. The new “G.I. Joe” film has Bradley Cooper starring and Danny McBride writing and directing. Hasbro owns both “Transformers” and “G.I. Joe,” and the long-awaited crossover film between them teased at the end of “Rise of the Beasts,” has been shelved. Sonic the Hedgehog: In terms of video game adaptations, Sega’s “Sonic the Hedgehog ” franchise has been the most reliable. “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” grossed about $490 million worldwide in 2024. “Sonic the Hedgehog 4,” hits theaters on March 19, 2027. Ben Schwartz, Jim Carrey, Idris Elba, Keanu Reeves, Colleen O’Shaughnessey, Lee Majdoub, James Marsden and Tika Sumpter are all returning for the fourth film in the wildly successful franchise, while newcomers include Ben Kingsley, Matt Berry, Nick Offerman and Richard Ayoade. Angry Birds: Paramount Pictures has a third “Angry Birds Movie” set for release on Jan. 29, 2027. Call of Duty: One major IP acquisition for Skydance is Paramount and Activision’s upcoming “Call of Duty” movie, directed by Peter Berg. The film will adapt the “Modern Warfare” storyline, the franchise’s biggest and most recognizable entry. With the “Modern Warfare 4” video game dropping this month, the upcoming film’s June 30, 2028 release date will coincide with the 25th anniversary of the original “Call of Duty,” which was released as a PC game in 2003. Street Fighter: Capcom’s “Street Fighter” video game adaptation came to Paramount through Legendary, which signed a multi-year global distribution deal with the studio. The film opened in mid-October leading the box office with a $31 million domestic/$51 million global opening. First-Look Deals: Goldberg and Greenstein’s talent signing game is pretty strong as the duo is also locking in filmmakers that create IP from scratch. Matt and Ross Duffer, who made “Stranger Things” for Netflix, signed an exclusive deal. Other big name filmmakers that have also signed first-look deals with Goldberg and Greenstein include Jon M. Chu, Issa Rae, Dan Trachtenberg and James Mangold. David Corenswet in ‘Superman’ (Credit: Warner Bros.) Warner Bros. DC remains one of the premiere IPs that Warner Bros. owns, and Skydance Chief David Ellison happens to be a massive Batman and Superman fan. James Gunn’s “Superman” grossed about $618 million worldwide last year. “Supergirl” was an unmitigated disaster and didn’t even come close, barely finishing around $125 million worldwide this past summer on a $170 million budget. Next up is “Clayface,” a $45 million R-rated horror take on the Batman villain, which grossed $43 million at the opening weekend box office. Superman: Gunn is currently in post-production on “Man of Tomorrow,” which is set for July 9, 2027 and will feature a new bunch of DC heroes. Ellison paid Gunn and Safran a set visit in Atlanta prior to the close of the merger and came away impressed with what he saw from the duo. Batman: Matt Reeves’ “The Batman: Part II” is dated for Feb. 18, 2028. Production on the film paused this month while Reeves attends to a personal matter. Steven Soderbergh is filling in and taking over directing duties to finish the last third of the movie. DC Studios is also making “Dynamic Duo,” an animated film with Warner Bros. Pictures Animation. Lord of the Rings: When it comes to Tolkien, Warner Bros. licensed the film rights. Andy Serkis returns to Middle-earth for the “Lord of the Rings” spinoff film “The Hunt for Gollum,” not only directing but also once again performing in the role of Gollum and his alter ego, Sméagol. Serkis played Gollum in the original “Lord of the Rings” films from 2001 to 2003. “The Hunt for Gollum” will be released on Dec. 17, 2027, with Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens back on board. Game of Thrones: Westeros is finally headed to theaters too as “Game of Thrones: Aegon’s Conquest” will hit theaters on June 1, 2029. The film is directed by Owen Harris, who previously directed three episodes of “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” (including the action-packed episode featuring the Trial of Seven). Minecraft: In terms of video game adaptations, “A Minecraft Movie” was a smash hit and grossed about $957 million worldwide last year, and the sequel “A Minecraft Movie Squared” opens July 23, 2027. Legendary co-produced both. Godzilla and King Kong: Legendary and Warner Bros. also have “Godzilla x Kong: Supernova.” Grant Sputore (“I Am Mother”) is directing the sixth Monsterverse film set to hit theaters on May 26, 2027. Dune: Denis Villeneuve’s highly anticipated “Dune: Part Three,” another Legendary film, opens Dec. 18 opposite “Avengers: Doomsday” in the box-office showdown of the year known as “Dunesday.” The film will conclude the trilogy, but a second season of HBO Max’s streaming series “Dune: Prophecy” is also due out. New Line Horror: New Line has been on a hell of a run in terms of horror. “The Conjuring: First Communion,” “Final Destination 7,” a new “Evil Dead” and “The Revenge of La Llorona” are all in the works. The Flood: Fresh off the massive success of “Resident Evil,” hot filmmaker Zach Cregger has Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence headlining his next movie, “The Flood,” an original sci-fi thriller that will be produced by New Line Cinema and released by Warner Bros. on Aug. 11, 2028. Gladys: A “Weapons” prequel, “Gladys,” is also in the works as the script is being written by Cregger and Zach Shields and produced alongside Vertigo Entertainment’s Roy Lee and Miri Yoon. Ocean’s 11: Before he joins “G.I. Joe” team over at Paramount, Cooper will write, direct, produce and star in the “Ocean’s 11” prequel led by Margot Robbie, which is currently in production. The film is set to release on June 25, 2027. The Matrix: A fifth “Matrix” film is in the works with Drew Goddard writing, directing and also producing alongside his partner Sarah Esberg via their Goddard Textiles banner. Original “Matrix” writer/director Lana Wachowski is executive producing. Gremlins: Warner Bros. Pictures will release a new “Gremlins” movie written and directed by Chris Columbus, who wrote the first film, in theaters on Oct. 6, 2028. Friday: New Line’s upcoming legacy sequel to Ice Cube’s “Friday” films called “Last Friday” is in the works. The film will see Ice Cube return to write, star and produce the film with “Boondocks” creator Aaron McGruder as co-writer with DJ Pooh. The Jetsons: On the animation front, as TheWrap first reported, Jim Carrey is in talks to lead a live-action “The Jetsons” movie with Colin Trevorrow in talks to to direct the project at Warner Bros. Pictures. Dr. Seuss: “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!,” the animated feature with Dr. Seuss Enterprises, will be directed by “Wicked” filmmaker Jon M. Chu and Jill Culton. The film has been given a March 17, 2028, release date in traditional theaters and Imax. Hello Kitty: Warner Bros. has added another franchise animation film to its slate with “Hello Kitty,” a New Line/Warner Bros. Pictures Animation co-production based on the hit Sanrio toy franchise. The film will be released July 21, 2028. Margie Claus: Warner Bros. Pictures Animation’s “Margie Claus,” the new animated feature, starring Melissa McCarthy as the title character, will hit theaters worldwide on Nov. 12, 2027. Original Films: “Sinners,” “Weapons” and Oscar winner “One Battle After Another” were the originals that carried Warner Bros. last year. The next crop of originals includes hot sci-fi package “Shiver,” which has Keanu Reeves attached to star and “Deadpool” director Tim Miller attached to direct. Untitled films from Nancy Meyers and Baz Luhrmann are also in the works, along with Academy Award-winning filmmaker Sean Baker’s “Ti Amo!” at Warner Bros.’ Clockwork banner.