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Skydance Media, LLC (formerly known as Skydance Productions) is an American
production company A production company, production house, production studio, or a production team is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and ...
based in
Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...
, California. Founded by
David Ellison David Ellison (born January 9, 1983) is an American film producer and actor best known as the founder and CEO of Skydance Media. Early life and education David Ellison was born in Santa Clara County, California. He is the son of billionaire Ora ...
in 2006, the company entered a five-year partnership to co-produce and co-finance films with
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
starting in 2009, and renewed the agreement twice extending to 2021. The company specializes in films, animation, television, and video games.


History

Skydance Productions was formed in 2006 by
David Ellison David Ellison (born January 9, 1983) is an American film producer and actor best known as the founder and CEO of Skydance Media. Early life and education David Ellison was born in Santa Clara County, California. He is the son of billionaire Ora ...
. The firm's first film was '' Flyboys'' in 2006, starring Ellison and co-financed with
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...
. In the fall of 2009, Skydance and
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
signed a five-year co-financing, production and distribution agreement, with Paramount holding the additional option of distribution. Before August 2010, Skydance hired Dana Goldberg, formerly of
Village Roadshow Pictures Village Roadshow Pictures is the American subsidiary of the Australian co-producer and co-financier of major Hollywood motion pictures established in 1986. It is a division under Village Roadshow Entertainment Group (VREG), which in turn is o ...
, to oversee development and production. In August 2010, with the Paramount partnership and an equity investment by Ellison's father and
Oracle Corporation Oracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation headquartered in Austin, Texas. In 2020, Oracle was the third-largest software company in the world by revenue and market capitalization. The company sells da ...
co-founder and chairman
Larry Ellison Lawrence Joseph Ellison (born August 17, 1944) is an American business magnate and investor who is the co-founder, executive chairman, chief technology officer (CTO) and former chief executive officer (CEO) of the American computer technology ...
, who was then the sixth richest person in the world, Skydance raised $350 million in equity and credit to co-finance its films. On October 25, 2011, Skydance tried to sign its own first production client with
Alex Kurtzman Alexander Hilary Kurtzman (born September 7, 1973) is an American filmmaker. He is best known for his work on the ''Star Trek'' franchise since 2009, co-writing the scripts to ''Transformers (film), Transformers'' (2007), ''Transformers: Revenge ...
and
Roberto Orci Roberto Gaston Orcí (born July 20, 1973) is a Mexican-American film and television screenwriter and producer. He began his longtime collaboration with Alex Kurtzman while at school in California. Together they have been employed on television ...
of
K/O Paper Products K/O Paper Products (also known as Kurtzman/Orci Paper Products) was an American television and motion picture production company founded by Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci c. 2004, after signing a deal with DreamWorks Pictures to rewrite the scr ...
, but the deal was never materialized. On May 1, 2013, Skydance launched Skydance Television, hiring Marcy Ross as division president. In 2014, Jesse Sisgold joined Skydance as President of Business Affairs & Strategic Planning and later that year was upped to Chief Operating Officer. He was again promoted in 2017 to President & COO. In March 2014,
Don Granger Don Granger is an American film producer, best known for producing numerous Skydance Media films, including ''Jack Reacher'' and '' Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation''. Career Granger started his career in 1987 by joining Weintraub Entertai ...
joined the company as the EVP of Feature Productions, a newly created position; he reports to Dana Goldberg who is the company's chief creative officer. In March 2015, Anne Globe joined the company as Chief Marketing Officer. Later that same year, Skydance raised $700 million in new financing. The refinancing included $200 million in equity from a group of investors, and a $500 million line of credit from J.P. Morgan Chase. Skydance renewed it slate deal with Paramount in the summer of 2013 for four more years. On May 3, 2016, Skydance launched the Skydance Interactive division last year following the acquisition of The Workshop Entertainment and announced in January 2017 for a new VR story-driven game titled ''Archangel''. Skydance also created a production label named Uncharted in December 2016 in order to house content that falls outside of the action, sci-fi or fantasy genre. On March 16, 2017, Skydance launched the Skydance Animation division by forming a multi-year partnership with Madrid-based
Ilion Animation Studios Skydance Animation Madrid (formerly known as Ilion Animation Studios) is a Spanish animation studio based in Madrid, Spain. It is a subsidiary of Skydance Media via Skydance Animation to create computer-animated films for theatrical release. Af ...
. In August 2017, Skydance and Paramount renewed their slate deal for another four years to 2021, with the addition of Skydance's animated films for distribution. On January 25, 2018,
Tencent Tencent Holdings Ltd. () is a Chinese multinational technology and entertainment conglomerate and holding company headquartered in Shenzhen. It is one of the highest grossing multimedia companies in the world based on revenue. It is also the w ...
bought a 5% to 10% minority stake. Jun Oh was hired by Skydance Media as head of theatrical, interactive and legal affairs in October 2018. In February 2020, RedBird Capital Partners and
CJ ENM CJ ENM (, CJ Entertainment aNd Merchandising) is a South Korean entertainment and retail company founded in 2018. CJ ENM was established as a result of the merger of two CJ Group subsidiaries, CJ E&M and CJ O Shopping respectively, in July 20 ...
invested in the company. On October 20, 2021, Skydance tapped veteran producer Jon Weinbach to lead a new sports division called Skydance Sports, a new unit will develop scripted and unscripted sports-related content. In January 2022, Skydance formed a multi-year feature film deal with
Apple TV+ Apple TV is a digital media player and microconsole developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is a small network appliance hardware that plays received media data such as video and audio to a television set or external display. Since its secon ...
, ending its deal with Paramount. However, Skydance will continue to work with Paramount on franchises such as '' Mission: Impossible'', Star Trek, Top Gun, Terminator, Jack Ryan, and ''
Transformers ''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the Autobots and the Decepticons, two alien robot factions at war that can transform into other forms, suc ...
''. On October 13, 2022, Skydance completed a $400 million strategic investment round led by KKR, a first-time investor, and joined by the Ellison family who remain majority shareholders.


Films


Released


Upcoming


In development


Skydance Television

Skydance Television is a television production company launched by Skydance on May 1, 2013. The division was hired by Marcy Ross as division president, and a month later, Carolyn Harris joined Skydance Television as vice president. However, in January 2020, Marcy Ross left her position and transitioning to an overall producing deal with the media company, where she will continue to serve as executive producer on ''
Grace and Frankie ''Grace and Frankie'' is an American comedy television series created by Marta Kauffman and Howard J. Morris for Netflix. The series stars Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin as the eponymous Grace Hanson and Frankie Bergstein, two aging women who form ...
'', ''
Altered Carbon ''Altered Carbon'' is a 2002 cyberpunk novel by the English writer Richard K. Morgan. Set in a future in which interstellar travel and relative immortality is facilitated by transferring consciousnesses between bodies ("sleeves"), it follows t ...
'', ''
Condor Condor is the common name for two species of New World vultures, each in a monotypic genus. The name derives from the Quechua ''kuntur''. They are the largest flying land birds in the Western Hemisphere. They are: * The Andean condor (''Vult ...
'' and ''
Foundation Foundation may refer to: * Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization ** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S. ** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cause ...
''. In her place, Bill Bost has been upped from senior vice president to president of Skydance Television. By November 2022, Bost steps down and launches his own company while Netflix's Matt Thunell takes his place. In May 2014, Jake Rose joins Skydance Television as EVP Production before in March 2018, Carol Turner joined Skydance to replace Rose on overseeing all physical production at the studio. By July 2014, its first show, ''
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
'', was launched on
WGN America WGN America was an American subscription television network that was owned by the Nexstar Media Group, and was the company's only wholly owned, national cable-originated television channel. The channel in its final form under the WGN branding ra ...
, reciving critical acclaim throughout its run, but failed to secure adequate ratings, resulting the series cancelled for 2 seasons in 2015. Later in April 2017, director Sam Raimi signed his first look deal at Skydance Television with his television producing partner
Debbie Liebling Deborah Liebling is an American entertainment executive and film producer. She was formally President of Production of Universal Pictures. Previously, she was a Senior Production Executive at 20th Century Fox. Before her tenure at 20th Centur ...
. By September 2017, a multi-year overall agreement was signed to producers Patrick Massett and John Zinman for Skydance Television after joining on a series based on ''
Sword Art Online is a Japanese light novel series written by Reki Kawahara and illustrated by abec. The series takes place in the then-near future and focuses on protagonists Kirito (Sword Art Online), Kazuto "Kirito" Kirigaya and Asuna (Sword Art On ...
''. After the 2017 announcement of developing a series adaptation of
Isaac Asimov yi, יצחק אזימאװ , birth_date = , birth_place = Petrovichi, Russian SFSR , spouse = , relatives = , children = 2 , death_date = , death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S. , nationality = Russian (1920–1922)Soviet (192 ...
's science fiction book series ''
Foundation Foundation may refer to: * Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization ** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S. ** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cause ...
'' with
David S. Goyer David Samuel Goyer (born December 22, 1965) is an American filmmaker, novelist and comic book writer. He is best known for writing the screenplays for several superhero films, including '' Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.'' (1998), the ''Blade'' ...
and
Josh Friedman Josh Friedman (born 14 February 1967) is an American screenwriter and television producer. He is best known for his work on the science-fiction action genre, including on the series '' Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles'', the film adapta ...
serving as the production's writers, in 2018,
Apple Studios Apple Studios is an American film and television production company and a distributor that is a subsidiary of Apple Inc. It specializes in developing and producing television series and films for Apple's digital video streaming service Apple TV ...
to brought the rights to the series and renewed a second season upon its release in 2021, making it the first Skydance series to air from
Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company ...
. In June 2018, ''
Dietland ''Dietland'' is the debut novel by Sarai Walker that was first published on May 26, 2015 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. The novel explores the beauty industry and society's obsession with weight loss. A television adaptation of the novel by M ...
'' aired on
AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** ...
for over 10 episodes along with a companion talk show hosted by
Aisha Tyler Aisha Nilaja Tyler (born September 18, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, director, and talk show host. She is known for playing Andrea Marino in the first season of ''Ghost Whisperer'', Dr. Tara Lewis in ''Criminal Minds'', Mother Nature ...
from ''
Archer Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In m ...
'', under its label company Uncharted. In September 2019, writer David S. Goyer also signed an deal with Skydance Television for an exclusive multi-year overall agreement as well under his Phantom Four company. On April 2019, '' Daredevil'' writer Lewaa Nasserdeen joins Skydance Television on a overall deal as well while developing a semi-autobiographical comedy-drama series on
Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...
. In May 2019, Alison Schapker, showrunner of ''Altered Carbon'', makes a overall deal with Skydance Television to develop various series at the studio, including an US remake of a South Korea series called ''
Hotel del Luna ''Hotel del Luna'' () is a 2019 South Korean television series, starring Lee Ji-eun and Yeo Jin-goo as the owner and manager, respectively, of the eponymous hotel that caters only to ghosts. Produced by GT:st, written by the Hong sisters and d ...
''. By August 2019, writer Olivia Purnell had an overall deal with Skydance Television on writing projects for the studio. In May 2020,
Nick Santora Nick Santora (born 1970) is a writer and producer born in Queens, New York. He won the Best Screenplay of the Competition in the New York City Independent International Film Festival. He has also written and/or produced ''The Sopranos'', ''The ...
was also on an overall deal with Skydance Television with a series starting
Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...
called ''FUBAR'', soon to be released on Netflix. During the month on the same year, Skydance Television names Drew Brown as head of production with others joining in from various companies. In December 2020, Skydance Television signed a first look deal with Exile Content Studio to develop and produce scripted English-language series. But by February 2021, the studio also signed a first look deal with Impact, a global talent network and development accelerator program owned by
Ron Howard Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He first came to prominence as a child actor, guest-starring in several television series, including an episode of ''The Twilight Zone''. He ...
and
Brian Grazer Brian Thomas Grazer (born July 12, 1951) is an American film and television producer and writer. He founded Imagine Entertainment in 1986 with Ron Howard. The films they produced have grossed over $15 billion. Grazer was personally nominated f ...
for television productions. On November 2021, Peter Johnson joins Skydance Television as a television executive reporting for Bill Bost.


Television series


Released


Upcoming


Scrapped projects


Skydance Interactive

Skydance Interactive (formerally known as ''The Workshop Entertainment'') is a game division launched on May 5, 2016, focusing on developing ambitious titles, managing projects licenses to other developers, and software developing innovative game mechanics and for VR and emerging platforms. In May 2017, Chris Hewish was hired as EVP Interactive help to set and execute overall strategy for Skydance Interactive, and oversee development, partnerships, and new business opportunities. On July 18, 2017, its first VR game, ''Archangel'' was launched. The game recently expanded into an online multiplayer upgrade, ''Archangel: Hellfire''. Two days later, Skydance Interactive revealed their second original game called ''PWND'', an multiplayer free to play game released on April 6, 2018, where players uses
Pwn Leet (or "1337"), also known as eleet or leetspeak, is a system of modified spellings used primarily on the Internet. It often uses character replacements in ways that play on the similarity of their glyphs via reflection or other resemblance. ...
s to win. In 2018, Skydance Interactive partnered with
Skybound Entertainment Skybound Entertainment is an American multiplatform entertainment company founded by Robert Kirkman and David Alpert. History Skybound Entertainment is the company behind the long-running comic, '' The Walking Dead'', created by Robert Kirkman. ...
to develop a number of original virtual reality video games based on the expansive world of ''The Walking Dead'' universe. ''The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners'' and ''The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners - Chapter 2: Retribution'' were to be the inaugural titles co-developed by the two companies.


Games


Released


Upcoming


Skydance Animation

Skydance Animation is the animation division of Skydance Media, which focuses on animated feature films and television series, founded on March 16, 2017. Its first film was ''
Luck Luck is the phenomenon and belief that defines the experience of improbable events, especially improbably positive or negative ones. The naturalistic interpretation is that positive and negative events may happen at any time, both due to rand ...
'' with its first short film was '' Blush''.


Skydance New Media

Skydance New Media is a video game development studio founded by Skydance in November 18, 2019, led by Amy Hennig. In October 2021, the studio announced a planned collaboration with
Marvel Entertainment Marvel Entertainment, LLC (formerly Marvel Enterprises) is an American show business, entertainment company (law), company founded in June 1998 and based in New York City, New York (state), New York, formed by the merger of #Marvel Entertainment ...
for an action-adventure game. In April 2022, it was announced that
Lucasfilm Games Lucasfilm Games (known as LucasArts between 1990 and 2021) is an American video game licensor that is part of Lucasfilm. It was founded in May 1982 by George Lucas as a video game development group alongside his film company; as part of a large ...
would collaborate to make a game based in the ''
Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
'' universe. Some have speculated that the game will be a revival of ''
Project Ragtag ''Project Ragtag'' was a codename for an untitled third-person action-adventure video game set within the '' Star Wars'' universe. It had been under development by Visceral Games since around 2013 and set to be published by Electronic Arts befor ...
'', which was also led by Henning. In August 2022, Marvel's parent corporation
The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
announced their intentions to showcase a slate of video games based on their IP at the joint ''Disney & Marvel Games Showcase'', which would be taking place in conjunction with the company's annual
D23 Expo D23: The Official Disney Fan Club is the official fan club for The Walt Disney Company. Founded in 2009, the organization is known mainly for its biennial exposition event, the D23 Expo. The name ''D23'' refers to ''D'' for ''Disney'' and ''23' ...
in person and through broadcast on multiple streaming platforms. Alongside the announcement, Disney stated that the panel would also debut a "sneak peek" at Skydance New Media's Marvel title, which was described as being an "ensemble game". During the showcase in September 9, 2022, the Marvel project confirmed prior reports that it would be set during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and that
Captain America Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...
and Azzuri / Black Panther would feature as the main characters in the ensemble, alongside Gabriel Jones of the
Howling Commandos The Howling Commandos is the name of several fictional groups appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Fictional team history World War II The first group of Howling Commandos (introduced in their own 1963 comic book seri ...
unit and Nanali, leader of the Wakandan Spy Network, while the Hydra organization would serve as the main villains.


Games


Skydance Sports

Skydance Sports is a sports content division launched by Skydance on October 20, 2021, led by Jon Weinbach. In January 2022, Skydance Sports sets up a partnership with
Meadowlark Media Dan Le Batard is an American newspaper sportswriter, ex radio host, podcast host and television reporter based in Miami, Florida. He has also worked at ESPN, and for his hometown paper, the '' Miami Herald'', for which he wrote from 1990 to 2016 ...
for the production of unscripted sports content. One of their projects is a soccer documentary series called ''
Good Rivals ''Good Rivals'' (originally titled as ''Good Neighbors'') is a three-part sports docuseries exploring the unique and Mexico–United States soccer rivalry, intense rivalry between the Mexico national football team, Mexico and United States men's ...
'', originally called ''Good Neighbors'', a three-part series coming on Amazon Prime Video around the
2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup is an international association football, football tournament contested by the men's national teams of FIFA's member associations. The 22nd FIFA World Cup is taking place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022 ...
, which begins on November 24, 2022. The second project would follow the chronciles of Diana Taurasi, most accomplished player in the history of women's basketball. In March 2022, Religion of Sports signs up with Skydance Sports to develop, finance and produce a slate of sports-related content for multiple platforms, starting with a series called ''The Owl'', created and executive produced by Michael Perri and directed by Aurora Guerrero. In April 2022, Skydance Sports signed their first film being picked up at
Amazon Studios Amazon Studios is an American television and film producer and distributor that is a subsidiary of Amazon. It specializes in developing television series and distributing and producing films. It was started in late 2010. Content is distributed th ...
based on Nike Inc, with
Ben Affleck Benjamin Géza Affleck (born August 15, 1972) is an American actor and filmmaker. His accolades include two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and a Volpi Cup. Affleck began his career as a child when he starred in the PBS educationa ...
and
Matt Damon Matthew Paige Damon (; born October 8, 1970) is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. Ranked among ''Forbes'' most bankable stars, the films in which he has appeared have collectively earned over $3.88 billion at the North Americ ...
teaming to rewrite the script and star in the film, with Affleck to direct. On October 12, 2022, Kylian Mbappé and his production banner, Zebra Valley, have signed a multiyear first-look deal with Skydance Sports. On November 3, 2022, Skydance Sports teams up with
America's Cup The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one f ...
for an "all-access, behind-the-scenes" documentary series on the next America's Cup race, helmed by original ''
Free Solo Free solo climbing, or free soloing, is a form of technical ice or rock climbing where the climbers (or ''free soloists'') climb alone without ropes, harnesses or other protective equipment, forcing them to rely entirely on their own individual ...
'' team
Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi (; born ) is an American documentary filmmaker. She was the director, along with her husband, Jimmy Chin, for the film ''Free Solo'', which won the 2019 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. The film profiled Alex ...
and
Jimmy Chin Jimmy Chin (born ) is an American professional mountain athlete, photographer, film director, and author. Chin has been a professional climber and skier on The North Face Athlete team for over 20 years. In 2006, Chin achieved the first succes ...
under their production company Little Monster Films. By the same month, NFL annouced a partnership to create the premier global multi-sports production studio in the industry with Skydance Sports.


References


External links

* {{Authority control Skydance Media Film production companies of the United States Television production companies of the United States Companies based in Santa Monica, California Mass media companies established in 2006 American companies established in 2006 2006 establishments in California Entertainment companies based in California