After he departed from DC Films, Walter Hamada found a new studio home that will see him return to his roots. Before he was in charge of overseeing capes and superheroes, Hamada worked on New Line horror properties. Now, he’s signed an exclusive producing pact with paramount to lead their horror line, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“With his track record for groundbreaking success, Walter is the ideal partner and visionary to build out our mainstream horror genre franchise business,” said Paramount Pictures President and CEO Brian Robbins.
This new deal, which will go into effect on January 1, 2023, will see a fresh mandate from Hamada. That will be to release several mid-budget horror films for theaters and streaming a year. This new strategy follows the studio’s success with Smile, an original horror film that earned an enormous $209 million globally on a $17 million budget.
“As evidenced by the fantastic performance of Smile, there is a tremendous appetite for original, high-concept storytelling in the global marketplace, and we look forward to a long and successful partnership.”
When Hamada was VP of production at New Line Cinema, he oversaw the creation of several different horror movies. Those included the Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street remakes, released in 2009 and 2010, respectively. The Conjuring and its various sequels and spin-offs. Hamada also oversaw the creation of It (2017), which, according to Variety, became the highest-grossing horror movie ever, with $704 million globally.
“I am thrilled to collaborate with Paramount Pictures with the singular goal of creating exceptional movies in the horror genre. Over the course of my career, nothing has been more gratifying than discovering emerging, first-time filmmakers and writers and unleashing their brilliance in a studio setting. Thank you to Brian and the entire team at Paramount Pictures for this tremendous opportunity, I can’t wait to get started,” said Hamada.
Walter Hamada’s Work With DC
Hamada joined DC in 2018, a troubled time for the brand in the wake of Justice League and the departure of filmmaker Zack Snyder, who was the architect behind the shared universe. Hamada presided over such lauded films as the Oscar-winning Joker (2019), The Suicide Squad, and The Batman (2022). However, his time at the company wasn’t without criticism.
Ray Fisher was one of the actors involved in the turbulent production of Justice League, playing the character of Victor Stone, aka Cyborg. Fisher made several allegations against the film's higher-ups, such as accusing director Joss Whedon of abusive and racist behavior. And that Hamada tried to cover it and interfere in the investigation of the alleged unprofessionalism.
Hamada would leave DC in the wake of Warner Bros. Discover Ceo David Zaslav’s overhaul of Warner Bros. Zaslav named James Gunn and Peter Safran as the new heads of DC, both of whom Hamada had worked with in the past. For instance, Hamada brought Gunn aboard for The Suicide Squad following his temporary ousting as director of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.