Warner Bros. is about to undergo a major leadership overhaul as David Ellison prepares to take control of the legendary Hollywood studio.
Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group co-chairs and CEOs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy are set to leave the company following the completion of Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, according to multiple reports.
Puck’s Matthew Belloni first reported that the pair will not be part of Ellison’s management team following the merger. Variety and The Hollywood Reporter subsequently confirmed their impending departures through their own sources.
The move offers one of the clearest indications yet that Ellison doesn’t intend to simply inherit David Zaslav’s Warner Bros. leadership structure when the merger officially closes.
Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy Are Out at Warner Bros.
De Luca and Abdy have led Warner Bros.’ film operation since 2022, overseeing everything from major franchise releases to the studio’s increasingly aggressive pursuit of filmmaker-driven projects.
Their departure comes despite Warner Bros. Discovery renewing their contracts only last year following a particularly successful 2025.
That year delivered Warner Bros. hits including A Minecraft Movie and Sinners, while the studio also enjoyed significant awards success.
But 2026 has been considerably more difficult.
Supergirl – DC
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Warner Bros. has struggled with films including Supergirl and The Bride!, while the Tom Cruise-led Digger entered its opening weekend with domestic projections of only $12 million to $15 million.
Still, the decision appears to extend beyond the performance of any individual movie.
Ellison is preparing to combine two enormous Hollywood studios while simultaneously attempting to achieve approximately $6 billion in projected savings from the merger. Warner Bros. and Paramount currently have numerous overlapping executive and corporate positions, making substantial restructuring inevitable.
Eliminating two of the highest-ranking film executives at Warner Bros. could alone save the combined company tens of millions of dollars annually when compensation and stock incentives are included.
Paramount Executives Could Take Control of Warner Bros. Movies
The much bigger question is who will control Warner Bros.’ enormous theatrical operation going forward.
Current Paramount Pictures co-chairs Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein are reportedly positioned to oversee the combined film operation, although an additional executive could eventually be hired specifically to run Warner Bros.
If that structure becomes reality, Warner Bros. would retain its identity as a studio while ultimately answering to leadership inherited from Paramount.
Timothée Chalamet as Willy Wonka – Warner Bros., YouTube
That distinction matters considerably given the size of the combined company’s theatrical ambitions.
Under the settlement that helped clear the way for the merger, Paramount committed to releasing at least 30 theatrical movies annually during the first two years following the transaction. That requirement increases to 32 movies annually during years three through five.
The combined company will therefore need both Paramount and Warner Bros. operating at significant capacity even as Ellison attempts to eliminate billions of dollars in overlapping costs.
Warner Bros. Has a Massive Slate Ahead
Whoever takes control will inherit some of Hollywood’s largest franchises.
Warner Bros.’ upcoming slate includes The Batman Part II, The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, Gremlins 3, and A Minecraft Movie Squared, among other projects.
The studio also controls DC, Harry Potter, the Warner Bros. animation operation, and New Line Cinema.
Harry Potter in the television series – HBO Max
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And while De Luca and Abdy appear to be leaving almost immediately, the situation at DC Studios is notably different.
James Gunn and Peter Safran are reportedly expected to remain at DC Studios, at least initially, after Ellison takes control. Belloni reported that Gunn and Safran will be “invited to stay on at DC, at least initially,” which is materially different from the situation facing De Luca and Abdy.
Gunn and Safran already have existing agreements that run through 2027. Gunn is also directing Man of Tomorrow, making an immediate leadership change at DC considerably more complicated.
Their longer-term future, however, will ultimately be decided by Ellison’s new regime.
The David Ellison Era Is Already Taking Shape
De Luca and Abdy aren’t the only executives affected as the merger approaches completion.
Paramount+ streaming chief Cindy Holland is also departing, while HBO boss Casey Bloys is expected to oversee content for both HBO Max and Paramount+.
Ellison has additionally brought in Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz as co-CEO of the combined company. Kreiz will concentrate heavily on day-to-day operations and integration, while Ellison focuses on long-term strategy, creative direction, technology, talent relationships, and capital allocation.
David Ellison talks to Bloomberg – YouTube, Bloomberg Podcasts
Ellison isn’t simply acquiring Warner Bros. and leaving the existing machinery untouched. He’s building a new corporate and creative hierarchy around the combined Paramount and Warner Bros. operation.
De Luca and Abdy appear to be among the first major casualties of that transformation.
And with a massive film slate, two streaming services, DC Studios, HBO, CNN, CBS, Paramount Pictures, and Warner Bros. all about to fall under the same corporate umbrella, they almost certainly won’t be the last major names affected by the restructuring.
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