Good morning: In today’s edition of The Industry, we look at:
Barbie 2, Searchlight’s Desperation and a Hall of Secrets.
Let’s go!
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THE INDUSTRY TLDR
Warner Bros.’ Barbie sequel is stalled over talent deals.
Paramount seeks an 11.4.26 antitrust trial; the 12 state AGs want a 4.5.27 start.
Searchlight takes on film version of Stephen King’s Desperation (prod: Sam Raimi).
Apple TV develops Colson Whitehead’s Harlem novels as a series w/ Barry Jenkins.
Hasbro and Working Title develop a film based on toy line Action Man.
Paramount Primal acquires thriller spec Sweet Spot.
DC Studios drops David Jenkins’ version of Booster Gold but continues developing.
HBO renews John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight through the end of 2027.
Netflix reunites the original Inbetweeners cast for a spinoff film.
Samara Weaving will play Emma Frost in Marvel’s upcoming X-Men film.
The Sopranos actor Vincent Pastore dies at 80.
Rebecca Hall joins Netflix’s adaptation of Dan Brown’s The Secret of Secrets.
Taylor Sheridan will appear in Season 3 of Paramount+’s Lioness.
Gary Oldman, Curry Barker, Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy join TIFF’s keynotes.
ITV reports $2.5bn in H1 revenue (↑ 2%).
Friday’s most popular answer: No, they will not be seeing the new Spider-Man film.
55% said “no.”
THE INDUSTRY NEWS
Barbie 2 is in trouble. The Warner Bros. Discovery sequel to Barbie (2023, $1.45bn worldwide) has not been able to lock in deals with the talented quartet that led the first film:
Ryan Gosling
Margot Robbie
Director: Greta Gerwig
Co-Writer: Noah Baumbach
Gosling is asking for $20M + backend, which WBD has not agreed to.
There’s a ticking clock here as the sequel rights will revert to Mattel in December if no deal is signed. Currently, Mattel will get a percent of the gross profits of Barbie 2.
It’s kind of absurd that CEO David Zaslav is supposedly stalling this entire thing. He’s set to make up to $887M if the PSKY merger comes to completion, yet he’s holding out on Gosling, Robbie, and Gerwig.
A court showdown between Paramount and the 12 State AGs seems imminent, but the timing is uncertain.
Each side proposed different dates:
November 4th, 2026 (Paramount)
12-day trial
April 5, 2027 (State AGs)
12-15 day trial
The later trial start date is a massive problem for Paramount as they will owe WBD $0.25/share every quarter ($650M/quarter); accruing the fees will begin on September 30, 2026. That means if the court moves forward with the State AGs’ trial date, they’ll owe WBD $1.3bn before they even set foot in the courtroom.
But even worse, WBD can force Paramount to pay a $7bn fee after June 4th, 2027 if it doesn’t close.
Another day, another Stephen King adaptation. Searchlight has kicked off on the development of a film adaptation of Desperation (author: Stephen King). And the team they’ve got is sensational:
Prod: Sam Raimi
Dir (in talks): Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein (Final Destination: Bloodlines)
Logline:
Stranded in a remote desert town where something evil has awakened, a group of travelers must fight to survive when a sadistic, possessed cop turns routine arrests into a relentless fight for their lives.
The directing duo has a mastery of suspense, tension, and gore, and their Rube Goldberg setup in Bloodlines also has some great character depth, so if they choose to make Desperation, it should be a great fit.
Bestselling The Nickel Boys author Colson Whitehead’s sought-after Harlem series is landing at Apple TV. Based on his crime novels: 2021’s Harlem Shuffle, 2023’s Crook Manifesto and the freshly published Cool Machine, the social satire follows furniture salesman Ray Carney as he’s pulled into Harlem’s criminal underworld, spanning from the 1950s to the '80s.
Silo’s Graham Yost is adapting the series, with Oscar winner Barry Jenkins (dir: Moonlight) on board to EP. Whitehead’s stories feel tailor-made for a Jenkins production, marking the pair’s second collaboration after the filmmaker adapted the author’s 2016 novel The Underground Railroad into a 2021 miniseries for Prime Video. The upcoming Apple series is currently in development.
Tidbits:
Get ready for some action. Hasbro and Working Title (Prod Co: The Substance) are developing a film adaptation of the iconic British toy Action Man. The Action Man toy brand was the definitive boys’ toy in the 1960s, selling over 20M units in its prime. The action figure gained immense popularity with its diverse set of accessories; boys were able to dress their Action Man up as everything from British Korean War vets to cricketers. Simon Hatt (EP: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3) and Anthony Sellitti (Wri: X-Men ‘97) are writing the script. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves producer Jeremy Latcham is producing.
Paramount’s new horror branch, Paramount Primal, acquires a high-concept thriller spec, Sweet Spot, from the writing duo Nic Curcio and Kirby Gladstein (Wri: Fantastic Fest Pitch competition winner Play House). Curcio has previously worked on various studio projects, including writing Sony Pictures Animation’s GOAT (2026) and developing Universal’s live-action adaptation of The Magic School Bus. He also runs a popular TikTok screenwriting account with 200K followers.
DC Studios is not moving forward with David Jenkins’ (Wri: Our Flag Means Death) Booster Gold TV series. David Jenkins’ Booster Gold project was one of the first titles to be announced by James Gunn when he took over DC Studios. While Jenkins may no longer be attached to the project, it is said that DC Studios will proceed with developing the series with a new creative team. Booster Gold is a comic-book fan favorite DC superhero who is known for his comedic partnership with Blue Beetle.
Mini Tidbits:
Rename a sewage plant, purchase rat erotica, get into a fight with Adam Driver. John Oliver is back! He has extended his HBO show Last Week Tonight contract through the end of 2027, currently in its 13th season.
Some people outgrow awkwardness. These four never did. Netflix is bringing back The Inbetweeners with the original cast returning for a reunion movie twelve years later. After three seasons and two hit movies in 2011 and 2014, the beloved British comedy is making its long-awaited return with series creators Iain Morris and Damon Beesley also back to write the film.
Emmy-winning producer Richard L. O’Connor (On Golden Pond) has died at 96. Beginning his career in the CBS mailroom, O’Connor moved up the ladder working as a production exec on Hickey & Boggs (1972) and The Muppet Movie (1979).
First Look:
Lemonade (indie film)
Cast: Barry Keoghan, Lewis Brophy
Release Dates:
Magenta Edge Films’ Lockjaw
Dir: Sabrina Greco
Release: Aug 8
A24’s Crystal Lake
Cast: Linda Cardellini, William Catlett
US Release, Peacock: October 15
Europe/Middle East/Africa Release: TBD, just acquired through HBO Max
THE ACTOR SPOTLIGHT
Welcome to Marvel’s Mutant Saga. Samara Weaving (Ready or Not franchise) has been chosen to play mutant Emma Frost in Marvel’s upcoming X-Men film.
Emma Frost is a telepathic Mutant who was originally depicted as a supervillain going against the X-Men. Over the years, she has evolved into one of the most complex characters in the franchise and a key member of the X-Men. She was played by January Jones (Mad Men) in Matthew Vaughn’s X-Men: First Class (2011).
Emma Frost started out as a femme fatale supervillain in The Hellfire Club who later became a loyal mentor to her students and one of the most protective members of the X-Men family. She is a character with a cold “ice queen” facade, yet hides a deeply warm heart toward people she cares about. Samara Weaving has shown that she can do both sides of Frost’s personality. She was a seductive femme fatale killer who hid affection for her victim in the Netflix comedy The Babysitter franchise. And in our interview with Weaving, she’s got a very warm, bubbly persona.
The Sopranos family has lost one of its own. Vincent Pastore has died at 80. The Bronx-born actor became one of TV’s most recognizable gangsters as Salvatore “Big Pussy” Bonpensiero, one of the most tragic and unforgettable arcs in HBO’s landmark series.
From Scorsese’s Goodfellas (1990) to The Jerky Boys (1995) and countless other mob dramas, Pastore built a career playing tough guys, but it was his conflicted turn as Tony Soprano’s longtime friend that cemented his place in TV history. RIP Puss, you will be missed.
Nothing like murdering some guys and then getting a good steak dinner with your best friend scene.
Tidbits:
Rebecca Hall (The Town) is set to star in Netflix’s untitled adaptation of Dan Brown’s The Secret of Secrets, opposite her real-life husband, Morgan Spector (The Gilded Age). Like National Treasure, but with science instead of history, Hall will play scientist Katherine Solomon, the girlfriend of Spector’s Robert Langdon. There’s a bookish quality to Hall that makes her perfect for this; just watch her slight but incredibly intimate portrait of a journalist in Peter Hujar’s Day. Filming in Prague later this year.
Taylor Sheridan is getting in on the onscreen Lioness action, set to star in the upcoming third season of his Paramount+ hit. After a CIA officer came on in season 2, the creator, writer, and EP returns in reprising his role opposite Thad Luckinbill’s character, though specifics are unknown. Paramount+’s Lioness S3 premiered yesterday.
Dermot Mulroney (Anyone But You) exits NBC’s Chicago Fire early in Season 15. Mulroney joined the show in its 13th season as Chief Dom Pascal, following the exit of Eamonn Walker, who played the commissioner of Firehouse 51 for the show’s first 12 seasons.
Mini Tidbits:
Gabby’s Dollhouse actress
Beatrice Kitsos
Scott Hylands obit
These casting tidbits and more here.
FESTIVALS AND DOCS
TIFF isn’t kicking off for another month and a half, but there’s a powerhouse lineup of keynotes forming:
Gary Oldman
Curry Barker (Dir: Obsession), Inde Navarrette (Actor: Obsession)
Robbie Brenner (Pres/CCO: Mattel, Prod: Barbie, Dallas Buyers Club)
Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy (Co-chairs/CEOs: Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group)
Lee Chang-dong (Dir: Netflix’s Possible Love)
Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler (Co-founders: Killer Films)
TIFF runs Sept 10 - 20th.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
ITV reported a steady first half of 2026, with growth at ITVX helping offset continued challenges in traditional broadcast advertising.
$2.5bn H1 total group revenue
↑ 2%
$131M H1 ITV Studios adjusted EBITA
↓ 9%
New government restrictions on less healthy food advertising, introduced in October 2025, reduced potential advertising revenue by about $26M. Even so, total advertising revenue grew during H1.
Total advertising revenue rose 3% YoY to approximately $1.13bn, while digital advertising revenue increased 13%.
Thanks in large part to the Men’s FIFA World Cup, ITVX monthly active users rose 10% to 17.9M, while total streaming hours climbed 27%. ITVX now has more than 40M registered users.
$1.32bn H1 total revenue for Media & Entertainment
↑ 2%
This is the first set of half-year results released since ITV announced the sale of its Media & Entertainment arm to Comcast’s Sky, with the transaction’s official regulatory review now underway.
Mini Tidbits:
Fremantle (Prod Co: Family Feud) hires Katie O’Connell Marsh as CEO, Fremantle Global Scripted Hub. She will replace Christian Vesper, who previously led Fremantle's Global Scripted division.
Element Pictures (Prod Co: The Killing of a Sacred Deer) appoints former HBO publicist Chris Duggan as its Head of Communications and Marketing. Duggan most recently held a senior communications role at Sky.
ON THIS DAY
1992. Unforgiven premieres in LA.
Written by Gabriel Miller, Madelyn Menapace and Tony Jaeyeong Jeong.
Editor: Gabriel Miller.
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