Skydance Confirms Name as David Ellison Exits Warner Bros. Film Chiefs Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy David Ellison confirms Skydance as the combined Paramount and Warner Bros. parent company name and addresses the exits of Warner Bros. film chiefs Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy. David Ellison has confirmed Skydance as the name of the combined company that will serve as parent to Paramount and Warner Bros., while Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group heads Pamela Abdy and Michael De Luca are leaving ahead of the deal's formal close next week. The announcements came on a sweltering Friday on the Paramount lot in Los Angeles, where temperatures reached 102 degrees as the studio prepared for a new executive leadership team to take over on Monday. Ellison Explains the Skydance NameEllison addressed staff in a memo explaining why the combined company will keep the Skydance name, which he chose for his own studio 20 years ago. He wrote that the goal was to preserve what has made Paramount and Warner Bros. iconic while giving the combined company an identity of its own.He said both studios have distinct identities, extraordinary legacies, and brands that have resonated with audiences for generations. He added that the company never wanted a new corporate identity to diminish, alter, or overshadow either one.Ellison also explained the personal meaning behind Skydance. He said the name came from his love of flight, since skydancing is another term for aerobatic flying, while the idea of limitless possibility came from the cosmos and the large-canvas storytelling of cinema.He noted that the original logo reflected that idea, with each letter of Skydance representing a planet revolving around the sun. He said the name was meant to capture what great storytelling can do by transporting people beyond the limits of the world they know and even their own imaginations.Warner Bros. Film Chiefs ExitWarner Bros. Motion Picture Group heads Pamela Abdy and Michael De Luca are out, a decision confirmed late Thursday night. Insiders said the move shocked them, though one power player with knowledge of the duo remarked that if they were surprised, they were the only ones.Their fate had been one of the biggest question marks looming over the entire deal. Timing was not on their side, as the motion picture group stacked losses for WBD this year despite a banner 2025. Another source added that Ellison personally spoke to the pair on Friday.Today is thought to be their last day on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank. Ellison will not get the keys to WBD until next week's formal close, but dealmaking activity is already surging.New Leadership and Creative OversightParamount Pictures leaders Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstine will be elevated to an expansive creative post, multiple sources say, overseeing heads of individual film labels across both companies, such as New Line stalwart Richard Brener.With this week's exit of Paramount+ streaming head Cindy Holland, Casey Bloys is the presumptive ruler of all streaming at Skydance. The company has yet to make anything official.Goldberg and Greenstine have been reaching out to key talent at Warner Bros., including Margot Robbie and her LuckyChap partners, to establish continuity. Another knowledgeable source said wheels are already turning to lock in a sequel to Greta Gerwig's Barbie, which was previously reported to have flatlined over costs.What Comes Next for SkydanceEllison said the company has big goals for Skydance and intends to pursue them with passion, imagination, and a willingness to take smart risks. At the same time, he said the company will honor what makes Paramount and Warner Bros. special, giving both studios the opportunity to grow, tell more great stories, and bring those stories to even broader audiences around the world.The combined company will be parent to existing brands including Warner Bros., Paramount, and HBO. The formal close of the deal is expected next week, after which Ellison will take control of WBD and the new leadership structure will begin to take shape.