Now that the Skydance-Paramount merger has completed, the new leadership is coming out swinging. Studio heads Josh Greenstein and Dana Goldberg are throttling up the slate and going for it. New Paramount CEO David Ellison says they have one mission:
“Restore Paramount as the No. 1 studio for filmmakers and talent in the world.”
And in corporate speak, they will:
“…strategically scale the amount of content for our streaming service as well as studios.”
So what does this mean? An immediate uplift from as low as 10 movies per year to as high as 15, for a start. So what could be expected?
Top Gun 3 will almost definitely happen, and Ehren Krueger will remain writing. Completely out of nowhere, they mentioned World War Z. We can also expect more Transformers, with three scripts competing in that franchise.
A Quiet Place Part III, Sonic the Hedgehog 4, The Angry Birds Movie 3, and Children of Blood & Bone will all arrive by 2027. Beyond that is Winter Games, Ferris Bueller spin-off Sam & Victor’s Day Off, and the Matthew McConaughey-led adaptation of the Mike Hammer books.
Most interesting is the report in Deadline that says they have plans for Star Trek, including a new movie. Goldberg says:
“Star Trek is a priority across the company.”
He also stated that the plan is to look at Star Trek as a whole across all channels and distribution models. This means, stronger and better, integration between film and TV.
“We’re going to make sure those conversations are happening together so that we can do what’s best for the brand as a whole.”
This could… should… spell the end of Kurtzman’s time in charge of the franchise. Look for signs of a SnyderVerse / DCU-style running down of the old world in preparation for the new. Basically, we predict that nobody working on Star Trek: Starfleet Academy should expect a second season.
