JJ Abrams’ Bad Robot Production Company is downsizing
Big changes are happening at Bad Robot. Details are still coming together, but sources say JJ Abrams is starting to shrink the production banner.
Sources were not clear on the exact number of cuts that would occur as a result of the downsizing, but it was characterized as an across-the-board change and not specific to one division of the company versus another. Additionally, Bad Robot will close its LA office and move its operations to New York. With this smaller footprint, Abrams will continue to work with third-party producers to develop feature film and TV projects.
The move comes amid some serious belt-tightening across Hollywood. In December 2024, Bad Robot extended its long-term deal with Warner Bros, the company’s home studio since 2006. But instead of the five-year overall deal the company signed in 2019 — estimated at nine figures, with a structure that allowed Abrams to sign other writers to overall deals — Bad Robot signed a more modest first-look production pact that covered film and TV productions.
For nearly 30 years, Abrams and Bad Robot have been the driving force behind massive film and TV hits, especially in the sci-fi genre, including “Alias,” “Lost,” “Fringe,” “Westworld,” “Super 8,” “Cloverfield,” the sequels to “Mission: Impossible” and the latest big-screen reboots of “Star Trek” and “Star Wars.”
Abrams founded the Santa Monica-based production company in 1999. He co-leads the company with Executive Vice President Bryan Burk, while Katie McGrath serves as co-CEO, overseeing culture and philanthropy.
Bad Robot recently produced “The End of Oak Street,” a new sci-fi thriller starring Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor. The film, from filmmaker David Robert Mitchell (“It Follows”), will debut in theaters on August 14. Next up, “The Great Beyond” – Abrams’ first directorial effort since 2019’s “Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker,” starring Glen Powell, Jenna Ortega and Samuel L. Jackson – will debut in Imax theaters in November.
The company also produces the animated film adaptation of the Dr. Seuss classic “Oh the Places You’ll Go.” Jon M. Chu and Jill Culton direct the film, with voice performances by Ariana Grande and Josh Gad; WB dated the film for 2028. Other titles in the works include the film ‘Hot Wheels,’ ‘Them!’ and the animated film ‘Emily the Strange’. On the TV side, Bad Robot is producing a U2 biographical scripted series on Netflix and season 2 of “Presumed Innocent” on Apple TV.
Last year, Bad Robot’s games division also signed a deal with Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) to produce and publish the studio’s upcoming project, a four-player cooperative shooting game.
Cynthia Littleton contributed to this report.
