J.J. Abrams Chose Warner Bros. Over Apple Because of “Deep Bench” of Properties

Mega-producer JJ Abrams has officially moved the entirety of his Bad Robot production studio to WarnerMedia. Despite being offered a reported record-breaking $500 million by Apple, Abrams ultimately decided to side with Warner for just half the amount. According to new reports from THR, Abrams and Katie McGrath — his wife and business partner in Bad Robot — were impressed with the company’s “deep bench” of properties.

Though it’s far from confirmation, we’d be remiss to not speculate about the A-list filmmaker getting his feet wet with the Warner-owned DC Comics character. Other franchises owned by Warner include Lord of the Rings, Austin Powers, Final Destination, Mortal Kombat, and The Conjuring universe. On top of that, the conglomerate also owns the whole family of Cartoon Network and Adult Swim properties.

While meeting with Apple, the latest reports reveal the Cupertino-based company wanted Bad Robot under an exclusive deal, hence the hefty price tag. That’d mean not only would Bad Robot essentially have to strictly make content for Apple’s new Apple TV+, but he’d be unable to do any outside deals such as directing any further Star Wars properties or shopping new television shows to third-party networks.

Then, there’s the relationship Bad Robot already had with WarnerMedia. Warner’s television arm was already home to a first-look deal for Bad Robot’s television properties, meaning this new overall deal will combine the production studio’s film and television sides at one broadcast partner. Bad Robot’s film deal had previously been with Paramount.

“It is a thrill for Katie, Brian (Weinstein), and me and the rest of our team at Bad Robot to call WarnerMedia our company’s new home,” Abrams shared in a statement earlier Friday. “John Stankey has a powerful vision for the future of WarnerMedia and is committed to storytelling that connects people around the world. We are excited and gratified to be a part of this new chapter under his and Ann Sarnoff’s thoughtful leadership. I could go on for hours, and probably will, about the extraordinary Peter Roth and the entire Warner’s television group, with whom we’ve worked for over a decade, and I’ve wanted to collaborate with Toby Emmerich and his team for as long as I can remember. 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. We can’t wait to get started.”

What Warner Brothers-owned properties would you like Abrams and Bad Robot take on? Share your thoughts in the comments below or by tweeting me at @AdamBarnhardt!

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