J.J. Abrams Signed A Deal With WarnerMedia Which May Eventually Net Him Closer To $1 Billion

J.J. Abrams deal with WarnerMedia could allow his company to get over $1 billion when it is all said and done.

Most of all the studios in Hollywood are shelling out huge sums of money to lock up talent for the future so as to not lose out in the upcoming streaming battle when most of the established creators will be holding exclusive deals and not be allowed to work for other studios. In their bid to make sure WarnerMedia is not left behind in the mass exodus of talent, the company is hiring one of the most sought after writers and directors in Hollywood.

After months of back and forth and ironing out details, WarnerMedia is finally able to close a five-year strategic relationship with the J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot Film and television production company. Even though they signed the deal, the whole thing did not come cheap for the company which offered, according to reports, almost $500 million for the talented director but the report was later refuted with a claim of money provided being close to $250 million and the possibility of the pay-out reaching more than $1 billion if his company is able to start a hit film franchise.

Source: LATimes

Most streaming and movie studios are trying to get talents, and this was not the only major deal signed this year. Ryan Murphy, the creator of the 'American Crime Story' and 'American Horror Story', was snagged by Netflix for $300 million, Shonda Rhimes, on the other hand, was handed a $100 million deal by the streaming giant. They also recently got an exclusive deal signed with the former creators of Game of Thrones and the money involved in the deal was closer to $200 million.

J.J. joins Greg Berlanti, who extended his deal with the company after receiving a $400 million pay package, in the Warner Bros. stable to create and produce movies, TV shows, games, and streaming content. After months of talking to multiple companies which include Disney, Comcast, Amazon, Netflix and Apple, the talented writer and producer landed on WarnerMedia because they were the ones who were allowing the company more leniency and room to work with. The company which is now owned by AT&T was able to offer theatrical film distribution, streaming, premium TV and also access to the still to be launched HBO Max but the best thing of the deal was the company provided J.J. with the right to sell his work to other non-WB affiliated outlets.

Source: The Verge

HBO Max and WanerMedia recently reached a deal with BBC to showcase all of the shows on the channel and now J.J. is going to join the vast talent pool of creators and writers of the company in the upcoming streaming battle which is only heating up after Apple announced they are providing their streaming service for only $4.99 per month which caused the shares of Roku and Netflix to tumble.

John Stankey, the CEO of WarnerMedia and AT&T’s newly appointed president and COO, was all praises for the people the company tapped to work for their company. He said, “We are extremely excited about the potential to deliver remarkable and memorable stories and characters across multiple platforms to audiences around the world.”

Source: Variety

J.J. Abrams was also all praises for the CEO of WarnerMedia, he said, “John Stankey has a powerful vision for the future of WarnerMedia and is committed to storytelling that connects people around the world. I am grateful for the chance to write, produce, and direct work for this incredible company, and to help create films and series with a diverse and vast collection of inspiring storytellers.”

The creator of Lost is currently working with Disney to finish the Skywalker saga with the final episode of the series The Rise of Skywalker. WarnerMedia said the director would finish all of his previous obligations with the Star Wars franchise and also Paramount, then move to the company and start creating new stories for them.