UPDATE: One Transformers matchup is off the table: the Transformers and G.I. Joe crossover movie is dead at Paramount.
A Godzilla vs Transformers movie is heating up behind the scenes of the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger, sources tell Cosmic Book News.
It’s one piece of a bigger play for the combined studio.
“Pieces are moving into place. There is a plan,” a source said. “P+WB will be all about Global IPs and A-Listers. Big swings, big revivals, big announcements. Shock and awe.”
“Heard again they’re taking pitches for both movies & TV series,” the source continued.
That lines up with July, when sources told CBN that Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy were already taking pitches from Zack Snyder, Matt Reeves, Ben Affleck, Christopher McQuarrie, and Patty Jenkins.
Two of the ideas in the room, per the source: “Godzilla vs Transformers heating up.”
That’s not all, the source added: “Terminator vs ???”
When we mentioned Frank Miller did the Terminator vs RoboCop comic,” it was pointed out that Amazon has dibs on RoboCop, with the new TV series in development.
The Blueprint Is Godzilla vs Kong
Why versus mashups?
“MONEY,” the source said. “Quick easy money. Plus merch and ancillary.”
Ancillary is everything a movie sells after the ticket: toys, video games, home video, streaming deals.
“Godzilla vs Kong has been a huge cash cow,” the source added. “That’s the blueprint.”
The receipts back that up. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire did $571.9 million worldwide, the biggest MonsterVerse movie yet, and the next one, Godzilla x Kong: Supernova, is already dated for March 26, 2027.
Here’s why the merger makes Godzilla vs Transformers possible.
Warner Bros. releases the Legendary MonsterVerse movies. Paramount makes Transformers with Hasbro. One deal puts both franchises under the same roof.
Both brands are hot right now, too. Transformers: The Movie is back in theaters this week for its 40th anniversary, and Toho’s Godzilla Minus Zero opens November 6.
As for “Terminator vs ???” — the Terminator is already in the family. David Ellison’s Skydance made Terminator: Dark Fate and controls the franchise and the 35th anniversary recently hit theaters, with James Cameron stating, “The good guys win against the AI superintelligence!”
Cameron has also recently said is developing a new Terminator project.
The source left the versus blank.
Hey, how about Terminator vs The Matrix?!
“Make Movies Fun Again”
Told that fans will flip over matchups like these, the source said that’s the idea.
“Exactly. That’s the whole point, they’re going all in! Fan service. Make Movies Fun Again,” the source said. “With good budgets and A-list directors, of course.”
The output has to be there to pull it off.
“They promised 30 movies a year (40 if you ask Cruise),” the source said. “At least half must be blockbusters or the whole thing crumbles. They need big names, big IPs, big swings.”
The 30-movies-a-year number is real: it’s written into Paramount’s settlement offer to California in the merger fight.
The source’s example of where the thinking goes: “New Top Gun movie? Great. But what if Renee Zellweger & Cuba are part of it? Along those lines. Remember NOSTALGIA is the new woke.”
Zellweger and Cuba Gooding Jr. starred with Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire. That’s an example of the approach, not a casting announcement. Top Gun 3 is already confirmed with Cruise.
“Nostalgia is the new woke” is this same source’s line from August 31: every property from 1970 to 2000 is getting a second and third look.
No Decisions Until The Merger Is Done
“Anyway, lots and lots of ideas and pitches are flying around,” the source said. “But no decisions until the merger is done.”
Paramount is due back in court September 24 over its $1.88 billion demand that the states set money aside to cover the delay if Paramount wins. A settlement conference with California follows in late October.
Everything here is the plan sources laid out on July 4: global IP and A-listers, backed by internal data on the audience Hollywood lost.
It’s also the fix for the problem those sources flagged this week, with Paramount holding meetings over the growing HBO backlash.
As the source put it: “Shock and awe.”
