Legendary Entertainment has named Blair Rich as chief marketing and commercial officer.

“Harnessing her proven record across franchise and audience building, Rich will now drive and execute Legendary’s global marketing, branding and communications and play a key role, as part of senior management, in expanding Legendary’s business, including the company’s adoption of new technologies across marketing and data analytics,” according to the official release. Rich will report to CEO Joshua Grode and chair of production Mary Parent for film marketing.

For the past year, Rich has been advising on the marketing campaigns for “Dune: Part Two” and “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” particularly when it comes to “strategies for commercial insights and innovation, and brand management and expansion,” the studio noted.

“Blair is a creative innovator. She brings an outstanding history of building some of the most dominant brands and entertainment franchises in the world,” Grode said in a Monday statement.

Exclusive: Following the release of his acclaimed Netflix documentary Will & Harper, examining his close relationship with transgender former SNL writer Harper Steele, Will Ferrell has found a new project in Street Justice, a comedy that he’ll produce and star in for 20th Century Studios.

Based on an original idea by Dave Callaham, the film has Ferrell playing a Dirty Harry type who goes about taking justice into his own hands, sources tell us. Peter Atencio, a comedy veteran currently in post on Legendary’s forthcoming live-action/animation hybrid Animal Friends, will direct.

Callaham, the writer behind Shang-Chi and the Oscar-nominated Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, penned the script on spec — selling it in a large seven-figure deal, according to our sources — and will serve as executive producer. Ferrell and Jessica Elbaum will produce for Gloria Sanchez Productions, with David Koplan also aboard to produce. The project reunites Callaham and...

The Lego Group has enlisted directors Jake Kasdan, Patty Jenkins and Joe Cornish to helm a trio of live-action movies for Universal Pictures.

Plot details of the three untitled movies are yet to be revealed, but the filmmakers behind each project have been announced. All three films will be produced by the Lego Group’s Jill Wilfert and Ryan Christians.

Kasdan will direct from a script written by Andrew Mogel and Jarrad Paul. The project is based on an original idea and previous draft by Matt Mider and Kevin Burrows. Kasdan will also produce the film with Melvin Mar under their Detective Agency banner.

Jenkins will direct from a script she co-wrote with Geoff Johns, reteaming after they co-wrote “Wonder Woman 1984” (with Dave Callaham). Jenkins will produce the movie through her Wicious Pictures.

Cornish will rewrite to direct the third film. Heather Anne Campbell wrote a previous draft of...

Legendary Entertainment, the company behind the Dune and Godzilla franchises, said it has completed a buyout of Wanda Group’s remaining equity interest.

Legendary funded the buyout with cash on its balance sheet without outside financing. This means the company is now owned solely by management and funds managed by affiliates of Apollo, which bought a $760m minority stake in 2022.

On Monday Legendary said it had retained “significant excess liquidity” to finance its business and planned expansion, which will see it continue to grow its film and television output and develop intellectual property.

Last year it secured a five-year $800m...

Legendary Entertainment has bought out Chinese multinational conglomerate Wanda Group’s remaining 60% equity interest in the studio known for the “Dune” and “Godzilla” franchises.

The transaction was funded entirely by Legendary using cash on its balance sheet. Legendary emphasized that it retains “significant excess liquidity” after the transaction to fund its current business and planned expansion. In 2023, the studio secured a five-year, $800 million credit facility led by J.P. Morgan.

“The purchase of Wanda’s remaining ownership interest is the next strategic step in Legendary’s long-range growth plan. With our outstanding creative team, headed by Mary Parent, developing, producing and marketing high-quality film and television and working with leading artists remains core to our expansion,” Legendary CEO Josh Grode said in a statement. “I want to thank and acknowledge Wanda, who has been an outstanding and supportive shareholder since 2016, and I congratulate them on this transaction.”

As part of the move,...

Legendary Entertainment has completed a buyout of Wanda Group’s remaining equity interest in a move CEO Josh Grode said ushers in a new era for the studio.

Financial terms weren’t disclosed but Legendary said it funded the transaction entirely from cash on its balance sheet for the deal led by Grode, without tapping partner Apollo Global. Legendary and Apollo now co-own the company and the board will be evenly split between management and the private equity giant that invested $760 million in Legendary in 2022.

Chinese conglomerate Wanda acquired the studio in 2016. “I think they were in a position where they needed some capital [and] the opportunity arose for us to buy Wanda’s interest at a valuation that would be very accretive to both management and Apollo. And so, as a result, we were able to get a transaction done,” Grode tells Deadline.

Legendary, created in 2000, develops, produces, markets, and...

It is that time of the year when we once again find ourselves on the precipice of another year of new film releases. This is when we look forward eagerly to the films scheduled for release in the coming year. There is probably likely something coming out at some point during the year that should be of interest to everyone (at least that’s what most studios are hoping). As always, there will be the usual sequels and big blockbusters set as tent-pole releases, as well as a plethora of additional titles in multiple genres to choose from. We hope you find this list of the upcoming films of 2025 and their release dates useful and that it helps you plan what you’re going to look forward to throughout the years.

The list below gathers all of the titles we know that are coming in 2025 by their current release date.

Top Hollywood producers Mary Parent (“Dune: Part 2”), Lucy Fisher (“Gladiator II”) and Sue Naegle (“Nightbitch”) join TheGrill 2024 for an exclusive Powerhouse Producers panel presented by Wrapbook Payroll, moderated by award-winning journalist Laura Holson.

The panel promises to deliver unparalleled insights into the ever-evolving landscape of film and television production.

Mary Parent is the chairman of Worldwide Production at Legendary Entertainment, overseeing all aspects of film for the company. While at Legendary, she has produced the Academy Award-winning film “Dune” and its follow up “Dune: Part Two,” as well as “Godzilla: King of the Monsters,” “Enola Holmes,” “Detective Pikachu,” and Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s virtual reality piece, “Carne y Arena,” which received a rare Special Achievement Oscar® for its groundbreaking exploration of fully immersive storytelling.

Upcoming highlights in 2025 include the live-action/animation hybrid comedy “Animal Friends,” starring Ryan Reynolds, as well as “Minecraft,” based on the world’s bestselling game,...

Unified Pictures has partnered with ReDefine Animation for The Ark and the Aardvark, the latest animated feature from Kung Fu Panda co-director John Stevenson.

ReDefine Animation is part of the Dneg Group, the London-based visual affects company. The animation division was responsible for the work on last year’s Nimona, which earned an Academy Award nomination for best animated feature, as well as The Garfield Movie. Dneg recently received $200 million in funding from Abu Dhabi-based Vc firm United Al Saqer Group for IP development, a new production studio in Abu Dhabi, and the creation of a new arm centered on AI technology.

The feature is already in production and ReDefine, which was chosen for its artistry, experience and scale, will act as a finishing company, working with Unified’s LA based animation team.

Aardvark explores the famed story of Noah’s Ark from the perspective of the animals and tells the story of an outcast aardvark,...

With less than a month to go before the 76th Emmy Awards, the telecast’s hosts are finally set. As expected, the father-son duo of Eugene Levy and Dan Levy will emcee this year’s Emmys, which take place on Sunday, Sept. 15, live on ABC.

The two made history in 2020 as the first father and son to win major awards in the same year, thanks to “Schitt’s Creek.” That year — in which winners appeared remotely, due to the Covid-19 pandemic — saw Eugene Levy win for outstanding comedy actor and Dan Levy win for supporting comedy actor. Dan Levy also picked up wins for writing and directing, while both won the outstanding comedy series Emmy as exec producers.

“For two Canadians who won our Emmys in a literal quarantine tent, the idea of being asked to host this year in an actual theater was incentive enough,” the Levys said in a joint statement.

On Friday, August 16, NBC’s The Today Show welcomes actor Ryan Reynolds and musician Chance the Rapper. Ryan Reynolds, whose latest movie Deadpool Vs Wolverine is about to become a member of the billion dollar club, joins the show to discuss his upcoming projects. These include the live-action/animated action comedy film Animal Friends, two Red […]

The Today Show: Ryan Reynolds, Chance the Rapper...

Addison Rae may be trying to supplant espresso as the drink of summer 2024 with her new song, “Diet Pepsi,” which is set to arrive this Friday, Aug. 9.

Rae officially announced the single Monday and shared the cover art after teasing the song — her first for Columbia Records — on social media over the past week. Last Wednesday, she leaned into double entendre with the X post, “I don’t do coke. I much prefer Diet Pepsi!” And the following day, she shared a short video on Instagram of her writing “Diet...

London-based The Dneg Group has secured a $200M capital injection from Abu Dhabi investment firm United Al Saqer Group (Uasg), in move it says gives it a value in excess of $2B.

The UK-Indian company said the new funds would be used to accelerate the group’s strategy of innovation and diversification and plan to become a sector-agnostic content production and AI-powered technology partner.

Next steps in this strategy will be the full activation of technology division Brahma, which is developing an AI-powered, photo-real CGI creator, including Ziva, for which Dneg recently acquired the exclusive license from Unity.

“My career has been built on investing in and leading visual creativity with technology. Our partnership with Uasg, the launch of Brahma, and the success of our content creation platform are all being fuelled by the power of our technology. We are redefining our business model as a leader in top-end solutions across the world,...

Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively’s Group Effort Initiative has partnered with the studio Dimension and Dneg 360, the recent expansion of Dimension’s partnership with visual entertainment services company Dneg, to launch Rise Up, a new mentorship program offering UK residents from diverse backgrounds in-depth and hands-on professional experience working on set.

Opening August 1, the program will take place at Dimension’s new, multipurpose virtual production complex in London, in collaboration with Dneg 360 and Sunbelt Rentals. During their time there, trainees will be offered the opportunity to meet with prominent production executives, including those working on the upcoming Animal Friends, a starry live-action/animation hybrid feature currently in production at Dneg and co-produced by Legendary Entertainment, Prime Focus Studios, and Reynolds’ production company, Maximum Effort. Each will be provided accommodation and transportation, as well as a stipend.

Stated Reynolds and Lively, “We are genuinely inspired by the UK’s creative...

Exclusive: You might not be familiar with Namit Malhotra’s name, but the world certainly knows his work. Malhotra founded Indian production services company Prime Focus Technologies in 1997, and is currently CEO of VFX company Dneg, which has won seven Academy Awards for films such Inception,Interstellar, Blade Runner 2049, and Dune. Hailing from a filmmaking family in India’s Mumbai, Malhotra holds immense influence in both Hollywood and Bollywood, where he is currently in production on Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana. The hotly-anticipated feature will feature a score collaboration between A.R. Rahman (Slumdog Millionaire) and Hans Zimmer. Malhotra, a services exec by trade, is also upping his producer game. He produced the recent Garfield movie, which crossed $200M at the box office this month, was an exec on Hindi-language film Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva and has exec producer credits on Peacock’s upcoming Rome epic Those About to Die,...

Exclusive: Joaquim De Almeida has joined the cast of Legendary’s Animal Friends, the live-action and animated hybrid pic from writing duo Kevin Burrows and Matt Mider. Peter Atencio directed the R-rated Road trip adventure.

He joins a cast that includes Ryan Reynolds, Jason Momoa, Aubrey Plaza, Daniel Levy, Addison Rae, Lil Rel Howery, and Ellie Bamber. Producing alongside Legendary are Reynolds’ Maximum Effort and producer Namit Malhotra’s Prime Focus Studios. Visual effects and animation will be provided by visual entertainment services company, Dneg. The idea for the film came from a general meeting between Burrows and Mider and Maximum Effort executive, Patrick Gooing.

The film will be released by Sony on August 15, 2025.

De Almeida’s past credits include Desperado, Clear And Present Danger and Behind Enemy Lines. He was recently seen in Amazon & MGM’s hit remake Road House opposite Jake Gyllenhaal and also recently reprised his role...

Kraven the Hunter is seeking new hunting grounds, with the Aaron Taylor-Johnson starrer taking a release date just vacated by The Karate Kid.

On Friday evening, Sony moved the villain-centric Kraven the Hunter to the prime winter spot of Dec. 13, 2024 (back from Aug. 30, 2024). Kraven steps into a date that was occupied by fellow Sony pic The Karate Kid, a crossover event movie starring Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan. Karate Kid now moves to May 30, 2025.

The move comes after the sixth and final season of Cobra Kai, the Netflix spinoff starring Machio as his original Karate Kid movie character Daniel Larusso, was delayed due to last year’s actors strike. Sony pushed the new Karate Kid to allow it to follow Cobra Kai‘s final season, with the summer date also seen as friendly for the all-ages audience its intended for. With an open holiday season 2024 date available, Sony opted to...

Sony’s “Kraven the Hunter” is being pushed back from its August release, moving to Dec. 13, 2024. It will screen in IMAX and premium large formats.

The film takes over “Karate Kid’s” original release date, which has been changed to May 30, 2025. It will now bow in theaters after the sixth and final season of “Cobra Kai” debuts on Netflix.

With a coveted Christmastime release date open, Sony is positioning “Kraven” as an R-rated option for the end of the year.

Starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, “Kraven the Hunter” unpacks the origin story behind the Marvel villain, set before his notorious vendetta against Spider-Man. Ariana DeBose, Fred Hechinger, Alessandro Nivola, Christopher Abbott and Russell Crowe also star.

The film is directed by J.C. Chandor, with a story by Richard Wenk and screenplay by Wenk, Art Marcum and Matt Holloway. It’s produced by Avi Arad, Matt Tolmach and David Householter.

Sony has also...

Sony Pictures has pushed Karate Kid from December to May 2025 and pushed back Kraven The Hunter to fill the holiday season slot.

Karate Kid had been scheduled to open on December 13 of this year and according to sources is being held back in order to follow the sixth and final season of Cobrai Kai, which was delayed due to the strikes.

Ben Wang stars in the title role as Karate Kid, alongside Joshua Jackson, Sadie Stanley, Ming-Na Wen, Aramis Knight, Wyatt Oleff and Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio, who will reprise their characters from the original franchise. Jonathan Entwistle directs from Rob Lieber’s screenplay.

Exclusive: Legendary has cast Ellie Bamber in Animal Friends, a star-studded feature combining live-action and animated characters from writing duo Kevin Burrows and Matt Mider. Peter Atencio is set to direct.

Bamber joins Ryan Reynolds, Jason Momoa, Aubrey Plaza, Daniel Levy, Addison Rae and Lil Rel Howery in the movie, the plot of which is being kept under wraps but is being billed an an R-rated road-trip adventure.

Producing alongside Legendary are Reynolds’ Maximum Effort and producer Namit Malhotra’s Prime Focus Studios. Visual effects and animation will be provided by Dneg.

The idea for the film came from a general meeting between Burrows and Mider and Maximum Effort executive Patrick Gooing.

Bamber was most recently seen in Lucasfilm’s eight-part series Willow for Disney+. She will soon commence shooting the feature Moss & Freud with Derek Jacobi, playing the lead role of Kate Moss. Her TV credits include BBC-Netflix...

Indian actor-producer Yash’s Monster Mind Creations and producer Namit Malhotra’s Prime Focus Studios have partnered on an adaptation of Indian epic “Ramayana” for global audiences.

The film will be directed by Nitesh Tiwari, whose “Dangal” is the highest Indian grosser of all time. Yash is best known for the “K.G.F.” action film franchise, the second part of which is also the fourth-highest grossing Indian film of all time.

Malhotra’s most recent credit is “Fighter,” which is the highest Indian grosser of 2024 so far. Malhotra is also the global CEO of visual effects company Dneg, which has powered seven VFX Oscar winners in recent years, including “Dune: Part One” and “Tenet.”

There have been more than 60 film and TV adaptations of the mythological epic “Ramayana,” which is a classic tale of good over evil, including Indian, anime and Thai versions. Malhotra has been planning a big screen adaptation...

Exclusive: Daniel Levy is set to join the ensemble cast of Legendary’s of Legendary’s live-action hybrid, Animal Friends, which already stars Ryan Reynolds, Addison Rae Jason Momoa, Vince Vaughn and Aubrey Plaza. Emmy-winning director Peter Atencio is set to direct the R-rated road trip adventure from writing duo Kevin Burrows and Matt Mider. The logline is currently being kept under wraps.

Producing alongside Legendary are Reynolds’ Maximum Effort and producer Namit Malhotra’s Prime Focus Studios. Visual effects and animation will be provided by leading visual entertainment services company, Dneg. The idea for the film came from a general meeting between Burrows and Mider and Maximum Effort executive, Patrick Gooing.

Best known for his Emmy-winning TV series, Schitt’s Creek, Levy recently made his directorial debut with Netflix’s Good Grief, which he wrote, produced, and starred in alongside Ruth Negga and Himesh Patel. His recent credits include The Big Brunch...

Exclusive: Ahead of Focus Features’ February 23rd release of Drive-Away Dolls, the road-trip caper marking her first collaboration with Academy Award winner Ethan Coen, Margaret Qualley has been set to star in Honey Don’t!, the filmmaker’s latest for the same studio.

Joining Qualley in the cast are Aubrey Plaza (My Old Ass) and Chris Evans (Pain Hustlers). Details as to the film’s plot are currently under wraps, though Deadline understands it’s a comedy in the same vein as Drive-Away Dolls.

Coen is directing from his script written with wife Tricia Cooke, the veteran editor who cut such Coen Brothers classics as The Big Lebowski and O Brother, Where Art Thou?, also co-writing the upcoming Drive-Away Dolls. Pic’s producers are Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Coen, Cooke, and Robert Graf.

In Ethan Coen’s solo effort Drive-Away Dolls, Qualley portrays Jamie, an uninhibited free spirit bemoaning yet another breakup with a girlfriend,...

Aubrey Plaza may not seem like the most natural fit for a major superhero movie, but having her join the Deadpool series may have been perfect. And it could have happened…if she hadn’t botched her audition.

Aubrey Plaza recently recalled how the wrong mindset led her to lose out on a role in the Deadpool sequel. “There are a lot of roles that I really wanted that I didn’t get, but everything happens for a reason. I don’t know, the one that sticks out to me for some reason, I think it was Deadpool 2. I had just come off a plane and I think I was shooting Legion at the time, and I really wasn’t in a good zone because you have to be in an auditioning zone and I was in a ‘work zone.’ That one hurt. Me and Ryan Reynolds, what could go wrong?...

Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy franchise) and Jason Momoa (Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom) are teaming with Blue Beetle director Ángel Manuel Soto on The Wrecking Crew, the buddy action comedy that they’ve set up at MGM, Deadline can confirm.

Bautista and Momoa were both in talks for the film, scripted by Warrior creator Jonathan Tropper, long before the SAG-AFTRA strike. Tropper’s deal was negotiated and closed, and his script submitted, prior to the WGA strike began in early May.

Plot details are under wraps for now, but Bautista and Momoa sold the pitch to MGM following a four-bidder battle in the fall 2021, as we were first to report. Jeffrey Fierson, Momoa’s collaborator on the Netflix/Discovery Canada series Frontier, will produce.

Bautista has been seen this year in M. Night Shyamalan’s Knock at the Cabin, as well as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,...

Vince Vaughn will headline Stephen Chbosky’s original comedy “Nonnas,” based on the true story of a man who, after his mother’s death, opens an Italian restaurant staffed by grandmothers, TheWrap confirmed.

Vaughn will be joined by Susan Sarandon, Lorraine Bracco, Talia Shire, and Drea De Mattea, Brenda Vaccaro, Linda Cardellini, Joe Manganiello and Michael Rispoli. Campbell Scott, who co-directed the ’90s indie “Big Night” with the film’s costar Stanley Tucci, also costars.

It’s based on the true story of Brooklyn native Joe Scaravella who launched Staten Island’s Enoteca Maria. “Siren” scribe Liz Maccie wrote the script and co-developed with Madison Wells and Boat Rocker’s Matador Content.

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Fifth Season, the film and TV studio behind “Severance,” “80 for Brady” and “Normal People,” is the lead co-financer.

Gigi Pritzker...

Time to brush up on the 5 D’s of “Dodgeball” — “dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge” — because a sequel to the 2004 hit comedy is officially in the works.

Vince Vaughn is returning to star in the sequel, which is in early development at 20th Century Studios. Plot details are being kept under wraps but Jordan VanDina (“The Binge”) has signed on to pen the script, from an idea by Vaughn.

The original film “Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story,” followed Peter La Fleur (Vaughn), owner of Average Joe’s Gym, a small and shabby, yet cherished, local haunt frequented by a group of misfits. In order to save the gym from being taken over by Globo Gym, a corporate fitness chain run by White Goodman (Ben Stiller), Peter and his friends enter a Las Vegas dodgeball tournament with a $50,000 grand prize.

“Dodgeball” was written and directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber, with...