Following his departure because the president for DC Studio at Warner Bros Discovery, Walter Hamada has landed at Paramount Footage in an unique, multi-year manufacturing deal which is able to see him returning to his horror roots, Deadline has reported. Amid the overhaul on the WBD studio prior to now 12 months, information broke out in August that Hamada was on the verge of quitting after new CEO David Zaslav made the controversial resolution to axe the straight-to-video Batgirl film. Although he stayed again for Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam launch and formally stepped down in October.
In his new position beginning January 1, subsequent 12 months he’ll be the brand new architect of Paramount’s horror style films. He’d be instrumental in releasing a number of low to mid-budget movies per 12 months encompassing theatrical and streaming releases. This 12 months Paramount hit jackpot with the success of Smile which was initially slated for the streaming service however pivoted to a theatrical launch the place it grossed near $210 million worldwide. Talking of Hamada’s new position, Paramount Footage president and CEO Brian Robbins mentioned, “Together with his monitor report for groundbreaking success, Walter is the perfect companion and visionary to construct out our mainstream horror style franchise enterprise.” He cited Smile’s success including, “As evidenced by the implausible efficiency of Smile, there’s a large urge for food for authentic, high-concept storytelling within the international market, and we stay up for an extended and profitable partnership.”
Hamada shared that he “can’t wait to start out” his new stint, saying, “I’m thrilled to collaborate with Paramount Footage with the singular aim of making distinctive films within the horror style.” He additional mentioned that over the course of his profession, “nothing has been extra gratifying than discovering rising, first-time filmmakers and writers and unleashing their brilliance in a studio setting.” Through the years throughout his DC Studio stint, the producer was liable for options like Academy-award profitable Joaquin Phoenix-led Joker, the billion-dollar grossing Jason Momoa-led Aquaman, together with shepherding titles Matt Reeves’ The Batman, The Suicide Squad, Marvel Girl franchise, and Shazam! amongst others. Upcoming initiatives from the studio that he labored on embrace, The Flash, Aquaman and the Misplaced Kingdom, and Shazam: Fury of the Gods.
Previous to heading the DC Studios, he was EVP of Manufacturing at New Line Cinema the place he gathered fame with horror options like The Conjuring sequence and the variation of Stephen King’s iconic horror novel IT, which went on to turn out to be a world phenomenon and the highest-grossing horror movie in historical past with greater than $704 million within the international field workplace. It will likely be attention-grabbing to see how his transfer to Paramount pans out.
Keep tuned to Collider for extra updates.
