Hollywood’s next mega-conglomerate finally has a name: when Paramount Skydance completes its $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery next week, the combined company will simply be called Skydance. Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison revealed the branding on Friday in a social media post, days before the merger is scheduled to close on October 6. The announcement confirms that two of Hollywood’s oldest studio banners will be folded into a single corporate parent even as their individual labels remain on the marquee. Geek outlets such as Engadget quickly amplified the reveal before mainstream business publications dug into what the Skydance name means for the merger.
Ellison’s choice of name reaches back to his own production roots. Skydance began as the film and television production company he launched roughly two decades ago, growing from a mid-size studio into a major supplier of blockbuster fare. In 2025, Skydance Media merged with Paramount Global to create “Paramount, a Skydance Corporation,” with the combined entity trading on Nasdaq under the PSKY ticker. That earlier transaction set the stage for the current expansion, turning Skydance from an upstart studio into the umbrella brand for a sprawling legacy media empire.
Ellison has been explicit that adopting the Skydance name is meant to give the parent company its own identity without erasing the long histories of Paramount and Warner Bros. In his post, he stressed that a new corporate badge should not “diminish, alter or overshadow” either studio, and framed Skydance as a creative-first home where the legacy brands can stay in the spotlight. Under the plan, Paramount and Warner Bros. will continue to operate as distinct labels and sub-brands inside the larger Skydance structure, preserving the familiar logos that have opened studio tentpoles for generations.
Behind the scenes, the rebrand comes with some very practical changes. Paramount Skydance has notified investors that its legal name will shift to Skydance Corporation on October 6, the same day the Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition is slated to close. On that date, the company’s Class B shares are expected to move from Nasdaq to the New York Stock Exchange, changing their ticker symbol from PSKY to SKYD. Ellison will share leadership of the enlarged group with outgoing Mattel chief executive Ynon Kreiz, who has been tapped as co-CEO and board member once the merger becomes official.
The path to Skydance has not been completely smooth. Paramount recently settled an antitrust lawsuit brought by a coalition of state attorneys general that sought to block the Warner Bros. Discovery deal, clearing one of the final legal hurdles for the $110 billion merger. A federal judge subsequently entered an order allowing the transaction to close, a decision that opens the door for one of the largest media combinations in history. Those moves underscore how closely regulators are watching the consolidation of Hollywood’s biggest content libraries under fewer corporate roofs.
For fans, the Skydance banner essentially ties together Paramount’s catalog of sci-fi and fantasy mainstays with Warner Bros.’ own deep bench of comic-book, wizarding, and genre properties, potentially making cross-promotion and shared universes easier than ever. The new parent will oversee everything from major film slates to streaming platforms and consumer products, creating a single corporate home for many of the franchises that dominate theaters, TV screens, and toy aisles. Exactly how Ellison and Kreiz will balance that scale with creative risk-taking remains to be seen, but Ellison has described the mission as building a next-generation global media company grounded in high-quality storytelling and technology.
