UPDATE 2: Now we know what the demand-gauging is for. Per our insiders, Zack Snyder’s The Dark Knight Returns is ready to go with Jay Oliva, built for IMAX, waiting on owners who can greenlight it.
UPDATE: Footage from Snyder’s movie night has hit the net, with the director telling the room to make every movie like it’s your last. Consider the dress rehearsal underway.
Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery are planning to release directors’ cuts in theaters next year, we’re told, as part of a “celebration of movies” series featuring the likes of Zack Snyder, David Ayer, Star Trek, Mission: Impossible, and Harry Potter.
Brand new Blu-rays and collector’s merch would follow the theatrical runs.
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This comes via the same source behind our report that it’s open season on James Gunn and Peter Safran at DC once the Paramount deal closes.
Zack Snyder’s Justice League
A “Celebration Of Movies” With Red Carpets
“Looks like Paramount/WBD is planning to release directors’ cuts into theaters next year – limited runs or maybe extended if demand is strong. As a ‘celebration of movies’ series,” the source tells us.
These are full-blown events, not quiet re-releases: “Red carpet included – and Q&A with director / cast.”
Which films? “Star Trek (JJs), Snyder, Ayer, Mission Impossible, etc.”
Note that covers both sides of the merger: J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek movies and Mission: Impossible from Paramount, Snyder and Ayer from Warner Bros.
Harry Potter
New Blu-rays And Collector’s Merch To Follow
The theatrical runs are only step one, we’re told: “And then release brand new BluRays & Merch – collector’s items.”
The thinking, per the source: “Easy quick way to make money from loyal fandoms and gauge demand for future projects.”
And one more for the Warner side: “Harry Potter too of course.”
Zack Snyder and David Ayer
Snyder And Ayer Are Already Back At Warner Bros.
The timing here is not subtle.
On Monday, Snyder was back on the Warner Bros. lot hosting a screening of Excalibur for staffers, invited by film chiefs Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy, where he reportedly received a hero’s welcome.
That followed his selfie from the lot set to a song called “Home.”
David Ayer posted from the lot the same day, on the tenth anniversary of Suicide Squad.
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The source didn’t name specific titles, but the obvious reads are sitting right there: Zack Snyder’s Justice League on the big screen, possibly the full four-hour cut in IMAX, and the Ayer Cut of Suicide Squad finally released, in theaters and on 4K disc.
Remember, the Ayer Cut has never been released in any form. A theatrical run with a red carpet and a director Q&A would be the biggest fan event Warner Bros. could stage.
This Is The Ellison Playbook
A nostalgia-driven theatrical series built around beloved franchises is also exactly what our sources have been describing for months.
Recall that Ellison and Paramount brass are sitting on internal data tracking the audience shift away from messaging-first Hollywood, per our sources, and the answer is a return to crowd-pleasers built for the entire world.
“Ellison wants to take Paramount/WB back to what works globally — and that’s rooted in the 80s,” insiders told us in our Star Trek reboot exclusive, pointing to Top Gun: Maverick, Michael, and The Dark Knight Returns as the models.
It’s already operational. Danny McBride is officially directing the new G.I. Joe movie, an ’80s property played straight, and Paramount’s A Nightmare on Elm Street project is set in the world of the 1984 original.
And just this week, Paramount dated its remake of Possession, Andrzej Żuławski’s 1981 cult horror classic, for theaters on June 11, 2027, with Smile director Parker Finn at the helm and Callum Turner and Margaret Qualley starring.
Classic franchises back in theaters, ’80s IP remade and played straight, loyal fandoms treated as the core audience. It’s all one strategy.
Ellison Bets On Physical As Sony Deletes Movies
A physical media push also fits everything David Ellison’s Paramount has done lately, as the studio is already doubling down on discs with the Star Trek 60th anniversary Blu-ray set.
Compare that to Sony, which is ending PlayStation disc production in January 2028 and this summer announced it is deleting 551 purchased StudioCanal movies, including Terminator 2 and Apocalypse Now, from customers’ digital libraries on September 1. No refunds.
Collectors have money to spend and fewer places to spend it. Ellison appears to have noticed.
The Deal Isn’t Closed Yet
One thing to keep in mind: Paramount has agreed not to close the Warner Bros. purchase until a verdict in the antitrust trial, which could come as late as June 2027, after twelve states sued to block the merger.
It is hoped the two will reach a settlement long before then, something advocated by Christopher Nolan’s DGA.
Which is exactly why “next year” makes sense. This reads as post-close planning, already underway.
The source says these releases are an easy way to make money from loyal fandoms and, more importantly, gauge demand for future projects.
That tracks with Snyder’s own recent teasing, from “106” to “casting” to a “bigger pond.”
Matt McGloin is the editor-in-chief and publisher of Cosmic Book News, the independent entertainment news site he founded in 2008. He covers movies, comics, TV, video games and pop culture and has reported major industry scoops over the years, including revealing the Avengers: Endgame title ahead of its official announcement. Through Cosmic Book News, he helped Marvel Comics promote Guardians of the Galaxy and Nova through exclusive previews, artwork, and interviews, with the site also quoted in solicitations and on comic covers. He also reported on Marvel’s Daredevil: Born Again retooling before it was later confirmed by the trades.