Terminator rights holder David Ellison‘s Skydance Media has struck a first-look deal with Apple Original Films for their future slate of live action movies, whilst seemingly terminating their first-look deal with Paramount Pictures. Skydance has been Paramount Pictures’ co-producing and co-financing partner for more than a decade, working together on movies such as Terminator Genisys and Terminator: Dark Fate – so this is a pretty big shift.
“David Ellison’s prolific Skydance Media and Apple Original Films have struck a first-look deal for a slate of live-action movies in another sign that Apple is getting serious about biting off a piece of the event movie business.
In turn, Skydance is ending its long-running first-look deal with Paramount Pictures, although Skydance will still have the right to co-finance and co-produce such franchises as Mission: Impossible, Top Gun, Transformers and Star Trek beyond those installments already in the offing, such as 2022 Tom Cruise pics Top Gun: Maverick and Mission: Impossible 7.”
THR
It is unknown how the Apple deal will effect the relationship between Skydance and Paramount. Skydance has previously worked with other studios while still mainly working with Paramount Pictures, and any projects they currently have should still be contractually fulfilled; potentially with the two studios being able to maintain their working relationship.
A first look is exactly that, if Apple isn’t interested in a prospective movie / project then Skydance can take it for consideration elsewhere.
This also may be an opportunity to regain some trust with Terminator fans who no longer have faith in Skydance and Paramount making more Terminator movies together. In essence Skydance can start a fresh and have yet another shot at making another Terminator movie.
Right now Netflix has an animation deal in place with Skydance for the Terminator Anime Series but like the Apple deal, that may not be an exclusive deal that restricts Skydance’s ability to pick and choose who to collaborate with.
So, just looking at the wider picture; if Skydance make another Terminator movie (which feels like just a matter of time), then they may team up with Apple but that doesn’t mean other studios can’t come in on the deal to distribute or participate in the production, much in the same way that Disney participated in Terminator: Dark Fate with 20th Century Studios (formerly 20th Century Fox).
Apple Original Films has previously dabbled in the genre of post-apocalyptic Sci-Fi with the 2021 release ‘Finch‘, which starred Tom Hanks.
Do you think Apple would be a better fit than Paramount Pictures for future Terminator movies?
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Source: THR