Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy to leave Warner Bros. as the $110 billion merger with Paramount closes

Mike De Luca and Pamela Abdy, the two heads of Warner Bros.’ film division for the past four years, will not be part of the leadership team of the new company when the merger of Paramount Skydance with Warner Bros. Discovery closes next week and David Ellison takes control. The news was first revealed by Puck journalist Matthew Belloni, as The Playlist reports, and is also confirmed by Variety and TheWrap; the decision is said to have already been made, although Ellison had not yet officially communicated it to the duo.

According to Variety, the combined company will be called Skydance Corporation, with the Paramount and Warner Bros. brands continuing under its umbrella. The $110 billion merger was put on track after a federal court approved the agreement with 12 state attorneys general.

Their places are expected to be taken by Paramount’s current film chiefs, Josh Greenstein and Dana Goldberg, who will oversee both studios. Meanwhile, James Gunn and Peter Safran will be invited to stay at the head of DC Studios (“at least initially”), while former Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz becomes co-CEO for operations and Casey Bloys takes over streaming (Paramount+ and HBO Max).

The departure closes a four-year tenure marked by bold bets on filmmakers: Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” became a cultural phenomenon, “Weapons” an original hit, and Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” won the Oscar for best film. But 2026 was difficult — “Supergirl” and “The Bride!” flopped, while Tom Cruise’s “Digger” (with a budget of around $160 million) is expected to open with only $12–15 million. Cruise himself thanked them publicly at the “Digger” premiere on Monday: “You didn’t even take a breath when we brought you this film.”

The news comes just a day after Mark Ruffalo warned in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that the merger would “stifle creativity”, weaken free speech and cost people their jobs.