Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy are set to leave their leadership posts at Warner Bros.’ film division after Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery are expected to complete a $110 billion merger on Oct. 6.
The pair will not join David Ellison's management team after the transaction closes. Paramount film heads Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein are reported to be set to oversee both movie studios under the new structure.
The deal calls for the combined film businesses to release 30 movies a year. It remains unclear whether De Luca and Abdy will stay during a transition period, and no details have been provided on departure terms or the effect on current projects and release plans.
The change is a sharp turn from the position set out by David Zaslav almost one year earlier, when he announced that De Luca and Abdy's contracts would be renewed. Their planned departure comes as Warner Bros., a 103-year-old studio, is being folded into a new ownership and management arrangement.
De Luca and Abdy led Warners' film division with a big-swing approach. During their tenure, Warner Bros. matched the all-time studio record with 11 Academy Awards from an industry-leading 30 nominations. Paul Thomas Anderson's 'One Battle After Another' won best picture for Warner Bros.
The leadership shift follows a year described as punishing in 2026. The merger will place the two movie operations under Goldberg and Greenstein, while the wider organisational structure after the deal has yet to be detailed.
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