Just days ahead of the closing of Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, David Ellison has unveiled the name of the company that will emerge from the merger: Skydance. The new group will bring together two of Hollywood’s most significant creative and industrial legacies under a single holding company, while Paramount and Warner Bros. will continue to operate as distinct and recognizable studio brands.

The transaction, valued at approximately $110 billion on an enterprise value basis, is expected to close on October 6. Following an eight-month regulatory review across 68 countries, including approvals in the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, China, Brazil, Canada and Mexico, Paramount Skydance said it has satisfied all conditions required under the merger agreement.

The choice of name carries both symbolic and strategic significance. Founded by Ellison in 2006 and built around franchises including Mission: Impossible and Top Gun, Skydance will now become the corporate brand of a media group encompassing Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros., HBO, HBO Max, CBS, CNN, Discovery, MTV, BET, Comedy Central, TNT, TBS, HGTV and Food Network, among others.

The combined portfolio will also bring together some of the most valuable intellectual property in global entertainment, from the DC Universe and Harry Potter to The Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones and Yellowstone.

Ellison has positioned the new identity as a way to strengthen, rather than replace, the two historic studios. Paramount and Warner Bros. will retain their individual identities, industry standing and the brand equity built over more than a century of filmmaking. The Skydance name, meanwhile, will provide a unified corporate identity for the parent company, marking the evolution of Ellison’s production company into one of the dominant players in the U.S. media and entertainment landscape.

At the management level, the new company will be led by David Ellison and Ynon Kreiz, the longtime Mattel chief executive who has been named co-CEO. According to details released by the company, Ellison will continue to oversee long-term strategy, creative vision, technology and capital allocation, while Kreiz will play a central role in day-to-day operations and the integration of the two organizations.

The leadership structure underscores the complexity of the post-closing phase. The challenge will extend well beyond combining content libraries and streaming platforms to integrating studios, television networks, advertising operations and international businesses.

The integration process is expected to take time. Analysts cited by the U.S. trade press estimate that fully combining Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery could take two to three years. In the meantime, the deal raises significant questions for the broader audiovisual ecosystem, from the competitive balance in streaming and content distribution to release-window strategies and the future of relationships with talent, independent producers and international markets.

For Hollywood, the creation of Skydance marks a new phase of industry consolidation under a dual-CEO structure: David Ellison, founder of Skydance Media and chairman of the combined group, and Ynon Kreiz, who will oversee operations and the integration of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery.

Kreiz joins the company after eight years at the helm of Mattel, where he led the toy giant’s transformation into an IP-driven entertainment company, expanding its properties across film, television and licensing. The global success of Barbie, produced in partnership with Warner Bros., stands as the most prominent example of that strategy.

Sources: The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Paramount