Heavy hang the heads who wear the crowns, and that goes for Skydance Pictures Co-Chairs Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein, who’ll be tasked with getting under the hood and tuning up the incoming 2027-2029 Warner Bros theatrical slates.
The first fire to put out: ensuring that Barbie 2 becomes a reality with its original franchise director Greta Gerwig and leads Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. There are other projects to look at as well, like the Jonah Hill-directed reportedly finished comedy The Cut Off, which was originally dated against The Odyssey this year and then undated. What’s up with that movie?
One of the next big auteur swings greenlit by the previous WB regime was director Baz Luhrmann’s next project Jehanne d’Arc. The director is currently waiting on a new draft of the script in hopes of a spring start.
While we’ve told you about the dated titles Warners is delivering to the new Skydance, some of these are in various forms of production and development, like the September 8, 2028 dated New Line Weapons prequel Gladys. That one is awaiting a final draft before attaching a director.
Going back to the desert days of Hollywood, it’s prime for any new administration to go through the previous regime’s pickings and determine whether there are horses still worth getting behind. This went on when Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy arrived at Warner Bros in June 2022 (the already shot Batgirl was shelved, while WBD CEO David Zaslav wrote down and sold Coyote vs. Acme), and it occurred when Goldberg and Greenstein arrived at Paramount in late summer 2025 (one of the most prolific projects from the previous Brian Robbins regime that didn’t move to a greenlight was the R-rated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin. In exchange, a new live-action feature of the sword-carrying reptiles is in the works aimed at families).
Despite the recent bomb that is Warners’ $160M Tom Cruise political satire Digger, Skydance co-CEO David Ellison says he’s not anti big swing. At Tuesday’s Day One Skydance presser, he reminded everyone that Sinners was his favorite movie from last year.
In addition to franchises, “We’re going to make a complete diverse slate,” asserted Ellison. “One of the things I’m a big believer in is original storytelling.”
“One of the areas to be very cautious about is doing anything that jeopardizes the quality of these pictures, and anything that would jeopardize the quality of the marketing campaigns,” said Ellison, who believes there’s a way for this two-headed monster of a studio to win, specifically the pro-forma content spend of $30 billion-plus annually, despite the burden of $79B in net debt.
RELATED: Skydance Credit Rating Cut By Fitch Citing Heavy Debt Load, Integration, Execution Risk
Those are hard numbers for some financial analysts to wrap their heads around, but Ellison and his new Co-CEO Ynon Kriez are out to prove to the town that their anomaly of a merger can indeed keep both legacy studios alive and grow product while paying down debt. While co-financing is always a solution, particularly on risky bets, it remains to be seen whether the new Paramount-Warner Bros sometimes takes the easy way out. How’s that? Rather than risk a $300 million feature gamble in production cost and marketing, will they simply accept the stage AGs’ penalties and shell out $30M for any film they’re unable to deliver in a 30-picture slate? It’s a cheaper alternative.
Ellison also underscored Tuesday that when he took the reins of Paramount a year ago, they overdelivered on synergies with $2.7B, while doubling the slate to 15 films annually and greenlighting four new series.
For the many who feared the consolidation of the two historic studios, what should come as some balm is that with Warner Bros operating separately from Paramount under Jesse Ehrman and Mike Ireland, the two studios will respectively be able to compete against each other on projects.
“But there will be coordination,” emphasized Kriez in that regard.
He expounded, “The plan is to keep the studios independent creatively, so that each will have its own slate, its own relationship, same opportunities, and then we will choreograph the release schedule, and optimize it by genre and by audience demographic to achieve the best for the company as a whole.”
While we’ve told you what has been dated before, below is a sampling based on our previous reports of the kit and caboodle that’s coming Goldberg and Greenstein’s way. We’ve sussed what is ready and real on the 2027 and 2028 slates. Excluded from this list are myriad lit acquisitions made during the previous De Luca and Abdy regime.
Priority
Barbie 2
Ideally, Greta Gerwig returns to direct and co write with Noah Baumbach and Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling return to star in a sequel to Warner Bros’ highest-grossing movie ever at $1.44B.
Finished
(or nearing finish for release)
Clayface (Oct. 23) (DC)
The Cat in the Hat (Nov. 6)
Cut Off
Jonah Hill-directed comedy in which he stars with Kristin Wiig
Dune: Part Three (Dec. 18)
Animal Friends (Jan. 22, 2027)
Remain (Feb. 5, 2027)
M. Night Shyamalan’s latest just screened at BeyondFest
Panic Carefully (April 9, 2027)
F.A.S.T (May 14, 2027)
Post-production
The Revenge of La Llorona (Feb. 27, 2027)
Godzilla x Kong: Supernova (March 26, 2027)
Bad Fairies (May 21, 2027)
Man of Tomorrow (July 9, 2027)
James Gunn’s sequel to Superman
A Minecraft Movie Squared (July 23, 2027)
Jared Hess returns to direct
Shiver (Aug. 13)
The Conjuring: First Communion (Sept. 10, 2027)
The Great Beyond (Oct. 1, 2027)
J.J. Abrams’ original sci-fi film with Glen Powell and Jenna Ortega
Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum (Dec. 17, 2027)
Directed by Andy Serkis off a screenplay by Philippa Boyens, Fran Walsh, Peter Jackson, Phoebe Gittens and Arty Papageorgiou
Evil Dead Wrath (April 7, 2028)
In Production
Untitled Ocean’s Prequel (June 25, 2027)
Bradley Cooper co-wrote, directs, produces and stars alongside Robbie, who produces via LuckyChap
Margie Claus (Nov. 12, 2027)
Untitled Nancy Meyers Movie (Dec. 25, 2027)
Nancy Meyers directing from her own script with Owen Wilson, Jude Law, Kieran Culkin and Erin Doherty starring
The Batman Part II (Feb. 18, 2028) (DC)
Matt Reeves-directed production is paused.
The Lunar Chronicles (Nov. 3, 2028)
Animated
Oh, the Places You’ll Go! (May 17, 2028)
Jon Chu’s animated feature take of the classic Dr. Seuss children’s book
Hello Kitty (July 21, 2028)
Animated
Dynamic Duo (Sept. 22, 2028) (DC)
Animation with puppets
Pre-production
Final Destination 7 (New Line) (May 12, 2028)
Michiel Blanchart directing
Nasty (Clockwork)
Mary Bronstein-directed pic with Jenna Ortega and Rose Byrne off an Isabella Jarosz screenplay. LuckyChap producing
Sean Baker’s Ti Amo! (Clockwork)
Jehanne d’Arc (Nov. 22, 2028)
Baz Luhrmann directing, Schuyler Weiss and Catherine Martin producing. Currently awaiting next draft
Greenlit
(By previous administration)
Sean Penn’s Untitled January 6th Movie (Clockwork)
Penn writing, directing and producing; Bradley Cooper to star
The Brigands of Rattle Creek (Clockwork)
Park Chan-Wook domestic acquisition
Greenlight Candidates
(or nearing)
The Flood (Aug. 2028)
Zach Cregger’s next movie with New Line starring Jennifer Lawrence
Gladys (Weapons prequel set for Sept. 8, 2028)
In rewrites
The Jetsons live-action movie
Jim Carrey starring; Colin Trevorrow attached to direct
Matrix 5
Drew Goddard writing. (a 2029 release candidate)
Development
Attack of the Fifty-Foot Woman Reimagining
Tim Burton directing
Blow Up the Chat
Temple Hill producing
Care Bears
Josh Greenbaum directing; Good Fear, GoldDay producing
Constantine 2
Forbidden Planet
Emma Watts producing
Game of Thrones: Aegon’s Conquest (June 1, 2029)
Gremlins 3 (Oct. 6, 2028)
Chris Columbus directing; awaiting rewrites
The Goonies 2
Steven Spielberg, Kristie Macosko Krieger, Holly Bario and Chris Columbus producing
Live-Action Hot Wheels Movie
Bad Robot and Jon M. Chu’s Electric Somewhere producing
Last Friday
Ice Cube starring
Meerkat Manor (Warner Bros. Pictures Animation)
The Green Room producing
Space Invaders (New Line)
Weed Road Pictures, Safehouse Pictures producing
Them! remake
Michael Giacchino directing
Early Development
Batman Brave and the Bold (DC)
Crazy Rich Asians 2
Savage Hunters aka Deathstroke & Bane Movie (DC)
Live-action Flintstones reboot
Ryan Gosling’s Open Invite producing
Free Willy reimagining
AGBO producing
Get Smart reboot
John Mulaney to star; Charles Roven and Andrew Lazar producing
The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past
Stephen Colbert, Philippa Boyens and Peter McGee writing
Prehistoria (Warner Bros. Pictures Animation)
Vivienne Medrano writing and directing
Powerpuff Girls
Live-action Teen Titans (DC)
Swamp Thing (DC)
Wonder Woman reboot (DC)