Warner Bros Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

Even after Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 arrives, there will be more of Middle Earth to explore, particularly through the lens of Gollum’s perspective. Deadline unpacked where the franchise is heading with longtime collaborators Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens. Warner Bros. has acquired the rights to make more films based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy work and the world founded on Peter Jackson’s original New Line trilogy of films, with one corresponding to each books.

CW President Dennis Miller acknowledges the revamped network must still “prove ourselves” to local affiliates, which are still “absorbing” the amount of change.

sports-streaming service set to be launched by Walt Disney, Warner Bros.

Kaare Eriksen Media Analyst With an average of 77.7 million daily active users in the first quarter of 2024, Roblox is an interactive platform too good for just about any brand to pass up. Stephanie Latham, VP of global brand partnerships at Roblox, stopped by Variety podcast Strictly Business to discuss just how lucrative Roblox has become as an experiential platform for users, creators and brands alike to interface with each other, be it through experiences built around music, film, TV, sports or individual personalities.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor The joint venture of Disney/ESPN, Fox Corp. and Warner Bros. Discovery to package together a sports streaming bundle has a name — Venu Sports.

EXCLUSIVE: The Banff World Media Festival has set panels on the “mass exodus of Black women executives in Hollywood” and LGBTQ+ representation, featuring the likes of Schitt’s Creek star Emily Hampshire and a Disney Development Director.

RedBird IMI has completed its £1.15B ($1.45B) takeover of The Traitors maker All3Media.

Kevin Costner‘s two-part Western epic “Horizon: An American Saga,” which makes its world premiere in the Out of Competition section of the Cannes Film Festival, has been acquired in France by Metropolitan FilmExport, one of the country’s biggest distributors. Daniel Baur’s K5 Intl. is handling international rights.

EXCLUSIVE: Michael Cassidy (Fatal Attraction) is set for a recurring role on the second season of NBC‘s Found.

We’re getting the first look at Kate Hudson as President of a legendary basketball franchise in Mindy Kaling‘s new comedy series Running Point (fka Untitled Mindy Kaling Comedy Series), set for premiere in 2025. Hudson and Kaling presented the new title and photos Wednesday during the Netflix Upfront presentation in New York City. You can see the photos above and below.

Gerhard Zeiler, president of Warner Bros. Discovery international, said an HBO output deal with Sky overseas will likely not look the same if it’s renewed. Sky has licensed content through the end of 2025 but it comes as no surprise that WBD will look to tweak that as Max expands globally. The streaming service wants a beachhead in the UK, Germany, Italy (and other markets) and needs HBO and Warner Bros. programming.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” went wild for his latest high-octane action film, showering the movie with a six-minute standing ovation at Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday night. Taylor-Joy blew kisses into the camera as the clapping continued at the end of the credits, performing a theatrical bow. Hemsworth looked teary-eyed at the rapturous response.

The next Game of Thrones prequel TV series will debut next year.

Dune: Prophecy is coming!

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer The actors behind the iconic Weasley Twins will be around to stir up trouble on Food Network‘s new “Harry Potter“-themed competition, “Wizards of Baking.” Variety has learned exclusively that James and Oliver Phelps, who played Fred and George Weasley throughout Warner Bros.’ eight-film “Harry Potter” franchise, will be hosting “Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking.” The project, which will air on Food Network and be available to stream on Max, was announced by Warner Bros Discovery U.S. networks chief Kathleen Finch during the company’s upfront presentation in New York City Wednesday.

John Cena has been tapped as this year’s host of Shark Week, Discovery Channel‘s annual summer celebration of All Things Shark. The week-long event kicks off on Sunday, July 7. The announcement was made Wednesday during Warner Bros. Discovery’s upfront in New York City.

CNN‘s Mark Thompson told advertisers additional details about the network’s strategy, with plans to expand franchises to digital platforms and to build new branded verticals around topics beyond politics.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter The travel series “Conan O’Brien Must Go” has been renewed for Season 2 at Max. The announcement was made as part of the Warner Bros. Discovery upfront presentation to advertisers in New York on Wednesday.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Warner Bros. Discovery kept up with TV upfronts week’s biggest trend at their presentation out of The Theater at Madison Square Garden Tuesday: Promoting not just its TV slate as a prime ad-buying opportunity — but also its film franchises. First up from CEO David Zaslav’s team, WB Discovery revenue and strategy chief Bruce Campbell addressed the Madison Avenue crowd following a sizzle featuring top WBD IP and brands across film and TV series.

DC Studios’ Gods and Monsters, a five-film/five-TV series plan, at least so far, is starting to inch forward. Following the upcoming “Superman,” film set for 2025, Warner Bros.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Food Network has a new magical treat in store for viewers this holiday season: The Warner Bros. Discovery-owned cable channel has ordered a baking competition inspired by the beloved “Harry Potter” franchise.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor The television industry’s annual “upfront” is usually a place where advertisers get to preview new series and specials, not blockbuster movies, so NBC raised eyebrows Monday when one of the first previews it showed to an audience at Radio City Music Hall was of the coming Universal film “Wicked.” NBCUniversal, chief content officer Donna Langley told the crowd, was “excited to build up our story legacy across film, TV and streaming.” Movies and premium cable series from HBO and Showtime used to be something traditional TV advertisers got their hands on only after they had made their way through theaters and pay-TV windows. Now, as a batch of this year’s upfront showcases reveal, they are increasingly being dangled before Madison Avenue as a major reason to support TV companies.

EXCLUSIVE: Highland Film Group is launching international sales on the action film Alarum starring Sylvester Stallone, Scott Eastwood, and Willa Fitzgerald, which has just wrapped principal photography. 

Put it your calendar to wear your tights and capes on June 26, 2026 as the Warner Bros/DC Studios feature take of Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow will hit theaters.

Warner Bros is filling out the 2025, 2026 calendar and beyond. Today, the Burbank, CA studio announced that New Line Cinema’s Mortal Kombat 2 will hit cinemas on Oct. 24, 2025 in Imax, while Drew Hancock’s Companion will kick off on Jan. 10, 2025, also in Imax.

Meredith Woerner Deputy Editor, Variety.com The expansive “Rick and Morty” multiverse just got a little bit bigger. The hit Adult Swim animated series just debuted the first-ever footage from the hotly anticipated anime spinoff series simply titled, “Rick and Morty: The Anime.” According to the teaser, the new anime-inspired show will debut with 10 episodes on Adult Swim and HBO Max “sometime this year.” Additional plot details, including a plotline for all the participating legacy characters, were also announced during Warner Bros.

Joan Vassos is getting another shot at love.

Selome Hailu Joan Vassos has been named as the first leading lady of “The Golden Bachelorette,” which premieres on ABC this fall. Vassos, who is 61 years old, was a contestant on Season 1 of “The Golden Bachelor” in the fall and went homr during Week 3. Gerry instead proposed to Theresa Nist, whom he married during a live ABC special in January.

“Top Gun” star, 61, was on a stroll at Formentor beach in the town of Pollensa enjoying the gorgeous weather before he decided to take off most of his clothes to go swimming.Cruise had on a gray T-shirt, blue swim trunks, beige sun hat, black socks and white sneakers in the photos that were taken of the actor. He went in the water wearing only his blue swim trunks, putting his ripped abs and strong muscles on full display.

April was a pretty steady month for TV viewership — and Disney was leading the charge.