Entertainment
Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery Combined Company Will Be Called Skydance
The massive combination of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery is getting a new corporate name.
David Ellison, chairman and CEO of Paramount Skydance, announced Friday that the combined company will operate under the name Skydance once the Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition officially closes. The transaction is currently expected to close on October 6, 2026.
Importantly, the move does not mean the Paramount or Warner Bros. names are disappearing.
Ellison explained that Skydance will serve as the corporate identity above the company’s enormous collection of entertainment brands, while Paramount and Warner Bros. will continue to retain their individual identities.
“We never wanted a new corporate identity to diminish, alter or overshadow either one,” Ellison said. Instead, the company wanted a name that would allow Paramount, Warner Bros. and its other brands to remain front and center.

The newly named Skydance will bring together one of the largest collections of entertainment properties in Hollywood. Paramount’s portfolio includes Paramount Pictures, CBS, Nickelodeon, MTV, Showtime and Paramount+, while Warner Bros. Discovery brings Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Studios, HBO, HBO Max, CNN, New Line Cinema, Cartoon Network and numerous other television and entertainment brands.
The announcement comes just days before the companies expect to complete the transaction. A federal judge cleared another major legal hurdle Wednesday by approving a settlement related to an antitrust challenge brought by 12 states.
Ellison will remain chairman and CEO of the combined company, while Ynon Kreiz, currently chairman and CEO of Mattel, has been named co-CEO. Kreiz is expected to oversee day-to-day operations and the integration of the businesses, while Ellison focuses on areas including long-term strategy, creative direction and technology.
For Hollywood, the Skydance name will now represent a company containing two of the industry’s most historic studios. Paramount and Warner Bros. will remain recognizable brands in their own right, but for the first time, both will sit beneath the same corporate banner.
DC
James Mangold’s Swamp Thing Is Still Moving Forward at DC Studios
James Mangold’s long developing Swamp Thing movie is still alive at DC Studios, with studio co chairman Peter Safran confirming that work on the project is actively moving forward.
Speaking at the premiere of Clayface, Safran addressed the status of the film after years of limited updates and growing speculation that it may have quietly fallen off DC Studios’ slate.
“We’re working on it, absolutely.”
Safran said. “The script is being written as we speak.”
Safran added that DC Studios remains excited about the project, while acknowledging that getting the film into production will also depend on Mangold’s availability.
Swamp Thing was originally announced in 2023 as part of the first chapter of James Gunn and Safran’s new DC Universe. The film is expected to explore the dark origins of the character while leaning heavily into horror rather than functioning as a traditional superhero movie.

Swamp Thing
Mangold previously described his approach as a simple Gothic horror story centered around a man and a monster, comparing the concept to the type of classic tragedy found in Frankenstein.
That direction would make Swamp Thing one of the darker and more distinct projects currently being developed for the DC Universe.
The character, most commonly associated with scientist Alec Holland, has long occupied the horror side of DC Comics. After Holland is killed in an explosion, Swamp Thing emerges as a powerful plant based creature connected to a supernatural force known as the Green.
The character most recently received a live action television adaptation in 2019, although the series was canceled after a single season.
Mangold remains attached to direct the new film, though DC Studios has not announced a production start date, cast, or release date.
For now, Safran’s comments offer the clearest indication in some time that Swamp Thing remains part of DC Studios’ plans.
Entertainment
Ryan Coogler’s ‘The X-Files’ Reboot Officially Ordered to Series at Hulu
The truth is officially heading back out there.
Hulu has given a full series order to Ryan Coogler’s upcoming reimagining of The X-Files, moving the project beyond its previously ordered pilot and officially bringing the iconic paranormal franchise back to television.
The new series will star Danielle Deadwyler and Himesh Patel as two new FBI agents rather than new versions of Fox Mulder and Dana Scully.
According to the official logline, the series follows two highly decorated but very different FBI agents who form an unlikely bond after being assigned to a long shuttered division devoted to cases involving unexplained phenomena.
Coogler wrote, directed and executive produced the pilot and will remain an executive producer on the series. Jennifer Yale will serve as showrunner and executive producer, while original The X-Files creator Chris Carter is also returning as an executive producer.
Coogler has described himself as a longtime fan of the franchise and has said the goal is to honor what made the original series special while finding a new way into that world.

Danielle Deadwyler, Himesh Patel and Ryan Coogler MELISSA ALEXANDER; COURTESY OF SUBJECT; ARTURO HOLMES/GETTY IMAGES
The cast will also include Devery Jacobs, Lochlyn Munro, Tantoo Cardinal, Joel E. Montgrand and Sofia Grace Clifton, with Amy Madigan, Steve Buscemi and Ben Foster set to make guest appearances.
The original The X-Files debuted in 1993 and became one of television’s defining science fiction series, following FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully as they investigated paranormal cases, government conspiracies and unexplained events.
The series originally ran for nine seasons before returning for two revival seasons in 2016 and 2018.
Whether David Duchovny or Gillian Anderson will eventually appear in Coogler’s version has not been announced.
Hulu has also not revealed an episode count or premiere date for the new series.
Entertainment
Breaking Bad Star RJ Mitte Dies at 34
RJ Mitte, the actor best known for portraying Walter White Jr. on the acclaimed AMC series Breaking Bad, has died at the age of 34.
Mitte died Monday in Brownsville, Texas. His representatives confirmed his death in a statement, remembering him as an actor, philanthropist and passionate disability rights advocate. A cause of death has not been officially announced.
Mitte became widely known for his role as Walter White Jr., also known as Flynn, the son of Bryan Cranston’s Walter White on Breaking Bad. He appeared throughout all five seasons of the series from 2008 through 2013 and became an important part of one of television’s most celebrated ensembles.
Like his character, Mitte lived with cerebral palsy. He drew from his own experiences for the role and later became an outspoken advocate for greater representation and opportunities for people with disabilities in Hollywood.

Breaking Bad [Sony Pictures Television]
Outside of Breaking Bad, Mitte appeared in projects including Switched at Birth, The Guardians of Justice, The Oak Room and the 2021 film Triumph. His latest film, Talking to Strangers, premiered earlier this year, with Mitte attending a screening in Beverly Hills on September 30.
Mitte also worked extensively with organizations supporting people with disabilities, including United Cerebral Palsy and Shriners Children’s, and served as president of The Mitte Foundation.
His representatives described him as a powerful voice for inclusion whose influence reached well beyond his work on screen.
RJ Mitte was 34.
