Legendary Entertainment Reportedly Exploring Sale or Merger

Legendary Entertainment, parent company of Legendary Pictures, Legendary Television, Nerdist, and more, is reportedly had discussions about a potential sale or merger with another media company. Variety brings word of these talks noting that they’ve been “heating up” in recent weeks and likely spurned by the recent merger and acquisitions in Hollywood. It’s unclear what an asking price would be for the company, who has produced films like The Dark Knight, Jurassic World, Pokémon Detective Pikachu, and the upcoming Dune, but the trade notes that it would likely be smaller than $3.5 billion, which is what the Dalian Wanda Group paid for it back in 2016.

In recent months there’s been a flurry of smaller studios and media companies being snatched up at major prices. It was previously announced that Amazon would acquire MGM, the studio behind films like the James Bond and Rocky franchise, for over $8.45 billion. Even the indie darling studio A24, home to Oscar winning films like Moonlight, Room, and Ex Machina, was reportedly seeking a sale reportedly for $3 billion. All of this comes after WarnerMedia and Discovery announced a merger earlier this year.

When Legendary Pictures first began they were pretty intrinsically tied to Warner Bros., releasing almost all of their films and serving as co-producer on many from 2005 to 2014. In recent years they’ve begun to diversify their relationships in Hollywood, releasing films through WB, Universal, Netflix, CBS All Access, and more. Though best known for major pictures like The Dark Knight trilogy, Godzilla vs Kong, and Pacific Rim, Legendary has found themselves in the limelight of prestige with Academy Award nominations for productions like BlacKkKlansman and Straight Outta Compton.

Legendary has also positioned themselves in recent years as a new home for big-budget remakes and revivals though with a reboot of the Faces of Death shock franchise the latest they’ve snatched up. Previously it was announced that the company is developing remakes of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Toxic Avenger, Quatermass, and Gundam in addition to their upcoming re-adaptation of Dune. Legendary is also developing a big screen feature film based on the History Channel series Ancient Aliens and video games Just Cause and Mass Effect.

Should Legendary be sold off to another entity it’s unclear if it will be a major studio, like Universal or even Warner Bros. Discovery, or if a company like Wanda, a conglomerate with multiple different businesses, will be the buyer. Check back here for more details on the story as we learn them.