Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery are set to merge under a new corporate name: Skydance. The announcement came Friday from David Ellison, the technology entrepreneur leading the combined entity. He revealed the name on the social media platform X, accompanied by a video collage featuring films from both studios.

Skydance is a nod to Ellison’s passion for aviation, a shared interest with his father, Larry Ellison, the Oracle co-founder financing the $111 billion acquisition. The name also references Ellison’s original entertainment company, established in 2006, known for producing major blockbusters such as "Top Gun: Maverick" and "Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol."

Despite the new corporate identity, Ellison emphasized that the individual studio brands Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures will remain intact. “We never wanted a new corporate identity to diminish, alter or overshadow either one,” he stated. Instead, he said, Skydance will provide an overarching identity while allowing the legacy brands to stay prominent.

Historically, media mergers have often resulted in names combining the previous companies—examples include AOL Time Warner and ViacomCBS. However, Ellison opted for a simpler, independent name for the merged enterprise.

Ahead of the deal’s closure, scheduled for Tuesday, Ellison has already initiated changes in the leadership team. He brokered the departure of Cindy Holland, Paramount’s streaming chief, to accommodate Casey Bloys, HBO’s chairman, and appointed Ynon Kreiz, former CEO of Mattel, as co-chief executive. Negotiations are also ongoing to retain Mark Thompson, CNN’s CEO, in his role.

Key leadership shifts include the exit of Pamela Abdy and Michael De Luca, co-chairs and co-CEOs of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, who will not continue once the merger completes. Industry sources indicated that Abdy and De Luca had not been informed of their departure when it was first reported, but Ellison later confirmed the decision. They were appointed in July 2022 and have a reputation for supporting auteur-driven projects, with notable successes including the Oscar-winning best picture "One Battle After Another."

Nevertheless, the underperformance of several Warner Bros. releases this year, including "The Bride," "Supergirl," and the upcoming "Digger," which stars Tom Cruise and is directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, likely influenced their removal. Analysts predict "Digger" will open with less than $12 million domestically, reflecting weak reception and box office projections.

Following these departures, Josh Greenstein and Dana Goldberg, co-chairs of Paramount Pictures, are expected to oversee operations for both Warner Bros. and Paramount after the merger goes into effect next week.