The fireworks are over, but Hollywood news is still sparkling.  Time for a round-up!

Skydance Media and Paramount Global have reached an agreement under which Skydance will take control of Paramount, the companies announced.  Skydance had previously been in negotiations to buy Paramount, but these talks stalled, with other potential acquirers entering the picture (see "Buy, Break Up Paramount").  Talks recently resumed, and have now produced a definitive agreement, which has been approved by the Paramount Special Committee.  Skydance is a producer of feature films (Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning), television (Foundation, Grace and Frankie), animation, and sports programming.  The newly formed company, which will receive a substantial cash infusion from Skydance, will be run by Skydance CEO David Ellison.

Warner Bros. Japan released the first teaser trailer for Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League (below), the follow-up to the 2018 Batman Ninja anime (see "Batman Goes to Feudal Japan"), at Anime Expo this weekend.  No release date was announced.

Academy Award-winning producer Jon Landau has passed away, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He was most noted for producing such blockbuster movies as Titanic, Avatar, and Avatar: The Way of Water (see "'Avatar: The Way of Water'").  Landau died of cancer at age 63; R.I.P. Jon Landau.

The Arkham Asylum TV series in development at Max has been shelved, according to Variety.  Originally announced in 2020 with a focus on Gotham PD (see "Gotham PD Series"), set in Matt Reeves' The Batman-verse (see "'The Batman' Sequel"), it later morphed into a series centered on Arkham Asylum, with Antonio Campos as showrunner, in the DCU.  This version of the series is no longer in development.

Netflix announced new cast members for Sandman Season 2.  Dream, played by Tom Sturridge (see "'The Sandman' Casting"), will be joined by new Endless characters: Adrian Lester as Destiny, Esme Creed-Miles as Delirium, and Barry Sloane as The Prodigal.  Also, Jack Gleeson, Joffrey Baratheon from Game of Thrones, will play the faerie jester Puck.  The new characters have been plucked from Sandman collections Seasons of the Mist and Brief Lives.

Sony Pictures Entertainment has purchased Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, the companies announced last month.  The landmark deal is the first one to test the recently rescinded Paramount Consent Decrees, which more or less prevented major studios from interfering with theater booking and led to the breakup of the old Hollywood studio system.  Alamo Drafthouse filed bankruptcy in 2021, after the theater industry took a major hit due to the pandemic in 2020 (see "The Twilight of the Box Office Blockbuster?").

For more information on geek movie releases, check out ICv2's Best in Shows Index page.  Currently, our calendars show releases running through 2027.