Chinese Entertainment Company Wanda Acquires Legendary Entertainment

Legendary Entertainment, the studio that produced Man of Steel, Pacific Rim and the upcoming Warcraft movie, has been sold to Chinese entertainment giant Dalian Wanda, Variety reports.

The deal, which cost Wanda $3.5 billion, will leave Legendary founder and CEO Thomas Tull in charge of the film studio as Chairman.

"Together, Wanda and Legendary will create a completely new international entertainment company," said Tull. "There is an ever growing demand for quality entertainment content worldwide, particularly in China, and we will combine our respective strengths to bring an even better entertainment experience to the world's audiences."

"For this deal to happen Thomas Tull, who is a major shareholder in Legendary, needed to trust us. We plan some IPOs for our film businesses. it is a great time for him to join us," said Wanda Chairman Wang Jianlin.

Besides their well-known movie studio, which recently switched distributors from Warner Bros. to Universal, Legendary operates a comic book and graphic novel publisher, with hits like Grant Morrison's Annihilator and the adaptations of Legendary films like Trick 'r Treat and Krampus.