The much talked about Warner Bros and J.J. Abrams $250 million exclusivity deal is changing post-merger. Is it a good thing?
A little back story is needed here for this whole thing to make any sense. J.J. Abrams made a $250 million deal with Warner Brothers/Warner Media. Bad Robot was supposed to be making original series and films for Warner Media, Warner Brothers Pictures and HBO MAX – as well as for any branches of the company.
Having Abrams and his company, Bad Robot, was meant to bring more subscribers to Warner Media and HBO MAX.
However, it looks like there may be issues with this deal in the long run. It looks as if the series sci-fi drama series Demimonde might be the reason for re-working the Abrams and Warner’s deal. Demimonde’s budgeting problems have become a cause for major concern. The budget for Demimonde is roughly about $200 million, which seems to be seriously concerning to WB.
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Credit: Al Seib/LA Times
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Demimonde is also still in pre production (Like a lot of J.J’s projects over there). It’s really no wonder they are losing it a little over the budget for the series. That’s quite expensive for a series. And with Discovery coming in as the new guy on the block, they are looking at everything Warners has going on. Including anything Abrams is working on, such as film, TV, gaming and digital content.
CEO David Zaslav has a really good relationship with the Hollywood director as well as any of the Warner Media talent that comes from the company. Zaslav is also keeping a close eye on everything that goes on with Warner Brothers and their properties.
J.J. Abrams had also worked for Warner Brothers for years, so its no wonder that Abrams, as well as Warners, are willing to talk and work out a new deal in order to keep the deal. Which is supposed to last until 2024.
The deal was set in stone.
However, with the pandemic and the economy changing, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to stick with the deal as is. It would make more sense for them to re-work the deal, reflecting the current state of the economy.
It’s very different now from back when the $250 million deal was made in 2019. With Bad Robot having a new deal it could make things for both sides easier, and make sure any projects that Abrams is a part of comes to light faster.
What do you think of Warner’s and Abrams talks of a new deal? Do you think things will end up badly for Abrams? Do you think the series Demimonde will suffer from the new deal?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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