Avengers On Top Again, Gunn and Safran Will Stay at DC, The Batman II Paused

Avengers: Endgame has once again reclaimed the global box office crown from Avatar, narrowly passing it with $2.9255 billion worldwide after its return to theaters. Avatar sits second with $2.9237 billion. Meanwhile, Nicolas Cage is taking aim at the franchise’s current direction. During a recent Q&A at Fan Expo Dallas, Cage said he misses when Marvel movies focused more on story, character development, and weaving together different backstories. Cage said watching talented actors put on “ridiculous outfits” only to prepare for the inevitable big fight makes it difficult not to see the MCU as “a well-funded and glorified WWE.”  Despite the shake-up at Skydance amid the Warner Bros. and Paramount merger, insiders say that James Gunn and Peter Safran are reportedly expected to remain in charge of DC Studios. Meanwhile, production on The Batman Part II has been temporarily paused as director Matt Reeves stepped away to focus on a family matter. Warner Bros. and DC Studios said Reeves has their “full support” and that they look forward to continuing the film’s journey soon.  On Tuesday it was announced that David Ellison’s Paramount completed its $111 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, officially combining two legendary film studios, an enormous conglomeration of TV networks, two large streaming services, and multiple news organizations into one player that the mogul hopes will let him compete with the likes of Disney and Netflix, to say nothing of Amazon, Apple and Google. The new mega company will be called Skydance, dropping both of the historical names that are well-known.  Focus Features and Blumhouse-Atomic Monster have given Curry Barker‘s upcoming horror-comedy Anything But Ghosts a release date of May 7, 2027.  Warner Bros. announced last week that Game of Thrones: Aegon’s Conquest is set for theatrical release on June 1, 2029. Owen Harris directs the film that has a script from Beau Willimon, marking the first feature film for the franchise that adapts author George R.R. Martin‘s A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy book series.  Bradley Cooper has signed on to star as field commander Duke in Paramount‘s G.I. Joe movie from Danny McBride. Paramount also confirmed that G.I. Joe has been “uncoupled” from the Transformers franchise. That crossover was teased at the end of 2023’s Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. Sources tell Deadline that Walton Goggins is set to join Michael B. Jordan and Austin Butler in Universal’s Miami Vice ’85 in a villain role.  Warner Brother's Tom Cruise led Digger opened to a disastrous $20 million dollars worldwide box office this weekend, the lowest opening for Tom Cruise in nearly 20 years. Amazon MGM's Colleen Hoover adaptation Verity took the number one spot with a $62.5 million dollar worldwide opening. Both films received C+ Cinema Scores, indicating steep drop offs coming next weekend.  Sources tell Deadline that Paramount and Hasbro Entertainment have appointed Steven Spielberg to focus on all creative aspects of the next live-action Transformers film alongside Michael Bay, who is in early talks to return as director. Michael Bay directed 5 live action Transformers films from 2007 to 2017.