Why J.J. Abrams turned down Apple’s $500 million in favor of WarnerMedia

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

It was officially announced just yesterday that J.J. Abrams had signed a five-year pact which would find Abrams' Bad Robot production company making movies, TV shows, games, and other entertainment content for WarnerMedia. While the deal was initially reported to be in the $500 million range, it seems to be closer to $250 million, although there's various financial incentives which could see that figure grow. WarnerMedia was far from the only studio courting J.J. Abrams, and one of the other companies in the mix was Apple, who actually offered Abrams a $500 million deal. So why did Abrams turn it down in favour of a lesser deal from WarnerMedia? THR has the details.

According to THR's sources, the big sticking point with Apple's deal was it would have forced J.J. Abrams into an exclusive contract, meaning that he would only have been able to produce content for Apple. Every film would be an Apple film and every TV series would be an Apple series, but under the WarnerMedia deal, Abrams is still free to work on projects for outside companies, such as STAR WARS for Disney, and sell his TV projects to third-parties. Apple also doesn't have a theatrical distribution model, nor do they have a catalogue of IP which Abrams could adapt, both of which were items of concern. At the end of the day, WarnerMedia simply offered Abrams more freedom, but $250 million isn't exactly chump change, so I'm sure he's going to do just fine.

In addition to creating original franchises for film and television, J.J. Abrams also has access to WarnerMedia's extensive range of IP, something which I'm sure he'll make full use of. In a statement when the deal was first announced, Abrams said:

It is a thrill for Katie [McGrath], Brian [Weinstein] and me and the rest of our team at Bad Robot to call WarnerMedia our company's new home. John Stankey has a powerful vision for the future of WarnerMedia and is committed to storytelling that connects people around the world. We are excited and gratified to be a part of this new chapter under his and Ann Sarnoff's thoughtful leadership. I could go on for hours, and probably will, about the extraordinary Peter Roth and the entire Warner's television group, with whom we've worked for over a decade, and I've wanted to collaborate with Toby Emmerich and his team for as long as I can remember. I am grateful for the chance to write, produce and direct work for this incredible company and to help create films and series with a diverse and vast collection of inspiring storytellers. We can't wait to get started.

 J.J. Abrams' next film, STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER, is slated to hit theaters on December 19, 2020.