Warner Bros. Heads De Luca and Abdy to Depart Following Paramount Skydance Merger

Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy are set to exit their roles as co-chairs of Warner Bros. Pictures, according to multiple sources speaking to Variety. Their departure coincides with the impending closure of the historic merger between Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery, which is expected to finalize on Oct. 6.

Under the leadership of David Ellison, the new management team will not include De Luca and Abdy. Instead, Paramount film chiefs Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein are reported to oversee the operations of both studios. As part of the agreement, each studio is slated to release 30 films annually. It remains unclear whether De Luca and Abdy will stay on for a transitional period before fully departing.

The leadership shake-up comes nearly a year after WBD CEO David Zaslav announced the renewal of De Luca and Abdy’s contracts. Their decision followed a period of significant commercial and critical success for the studio, highlighted by the box office triumphs of Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners,” “A Minecraft Movie,” and “Weapons.” Additionally, Warner Bros. achieved a studio record with 11 Academy Awards from 30 nominations, including Best Picture for Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another.”

Ellison has kept details of the new organizational structure largely confidential. While Cindy Holland has left her position as head of streaming for Paramount+, there has been no official confirmation that Casey Bloys will take over the top streaming role in the combined entity. However, it is confirmed that former Mattel CEO Ynon Kriez has been appointed co-CEO alongside Ellison to manage day-to-day operations and drive the integration of the two companies.

The initial report regarding the executives’ exit was published by Puck. Representatives for both Paramount and Warner Bros. did not immediately return requests for comment.