NBCUniversal Studio Chief Donna Langley on ‘Fast and Furious,’ ‘Wicked’ and the Future of Movies

variety.com:

Brent Lang Executive Editor Paramount Global may be a direct competitor, but NBCUniversal Studio Group Chairman and Chief Content Officer Donna Langley will be disappointed if the media giant goes away. “It’s sad,” Langley said at the Kering Women in Motion talk at the Cannes Film Festival, noting that a sale of Paramount means there will be fewer Hollywood studios. “These companies have been great and I’m a big believer in this competitive landscape — kind of ‘all boats will rise.

There’s enough to go around.’ I like having healthy competitors; it’s much more fun and interesting and it’s just best for the business.” Paramount has been entertaining offers in recent months, with companies like Skydance and Sony circling the studio.

Langley is hopeful that the deal will be finished by the end of the year. “It’s enough already reading about this,” she said. “No one really knows what’s happening.” And today it may be Paramount on the auction block, but when she looks at the media landscape, Langley sees more mergers and sales on the horizon. “Consolidation is inevitable,” Langley said. “It will happen.” Langley, who was interviewed by Variety Co-Editor-in-Chief Ramin Setoodeh, gave updates on some of Universal’s biggest films and franchises.

Though she insists there’s “still gas in the tank” of the “Fast & Furious” franchise, Langley suggested that Dom Toretto and his crew may be getting a tune-up after the eleventh film in the series opens in 2026. “Where we go next is a question,” Langley said. “We may pivot another time and bring it back to the streets of L.A.