Paramount Just Became a Theme Park Powerhouse — And Yas Island Could Be the Biggest Winner
For years, the biggest battle in the theme-park industry has been relatively easy to understand: Disney versus Universal.
But the entertainment landscape has just changed.
Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery doesn’t only reshape Hollywood, streaming and television. It could also create a new force in themed entertainment, bringing together a collection of some of the world’s most recognizable movie and television franchises under one corporate roof.
The $110 billion transaction, cleared by a federal judge at the end of September, is expected to close October 6. And while the deal has understandably generated enormous attention across Hollywood, one of its less obvious consequences could be what happens to the theme-park industry.
Because Paramount and Warner Bros. don’t just own entertainment properties.
They own worlds.
A Library of Franchises Waiting to Become Attractions
Consider what the combined company now controls.
From Paramount there is Top Gun, Star Trek and Mission: Impossible. From Warner Bros. come The Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, Gremlins, DC and a host of other properties.
Many of those franchises have enormous global followings but have never been turned into major, permanent theme-park attractions.
That could change.
Warner Bros. already has considerable experience in the business. Its relationship with Six Flags dates back to 1984, when Warner characters including the Looney Tunes cast began appearing in the amusement park operator’s attractions.
Warner eventually developed its own branded parks as well, beginning with Warner Bros. Movie World on Australia’s Gold Coast in 1991 and later expanding into Europe and the Middle East.
The most significant example today may be Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi.
Warner Bros. World Shows What Is Possible
Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi is particularly important because it demonstrates what Warner’s intellectual property can become when it is placed inside a purpose-built immersive environment.
The park is part of Yas Island, the enormous entertainment destination that already includes Warner Bros. World, Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, SeaWorld Abu Dhabi and Yas Waterworld, alongside hotels, shopping, a marina and the Yas Marina Circuit.
Warner’s Harry Potter universe is also about to become even more important in the region, with a new Potter land planned for Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi.
That is significant because much of the existing Warner park experience has traditionally focused on animated properties. A Harry Potter expansion brings a major live-action franchise into the park in a way that could open the door to other Warner properties.
Imagine what The Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones or even Gremlins could look like when given the same level of investment.
Those franchises currently represent enormous untapped potential in physical attractions.
Then There Is Paramount
Paramount’s position is particularly interesting because it comes into this merger from almost the opposite direction.
The company once had a significant presence in the American theme-park business.
Paramount acquired a portfolio of regional parks in 1992, but eventually sold them in 2006 for approximately $1.2 billion. Those parks eventually became part of the chain that would merge with Six Flags in 2024.
That left Paramount without its own major theme-park network.
Yet the company still possessed something arguably more valuable: an enormous collection of intellectual property.
Now it has a relationship with Warner Bros. that could potentially change the equation.
And there may already be an obvious place to start.
Could Paramount Come to Yas Island?
Yas Island looks like one of the most logical locations for a future Paramount-branded attraction.
Warner Bros. is already there.
Paramount isn’t.
That creates an unusual opportunity for the newly combined company.
Yas Island has been deliberately built around the idea that entertainment properties can coexist within a single destination, encouraging visitors to stay longer and experience multiple attractions rather than making a single theme park the entire trip.
It already combines major theme parks with hotels, retail, motorsport, beaches, dining and other entertainment.
And there is still room to grow.
Miral CEO Mohamed Al Zaabi has previously said the company has a long-term development plan for Yas Island, with additional attractions, hotels and rooms planned over the coming years.
That makes a Paramount presence particularly intriguing.
A Paramount park could potentially bring franchises such as Mission: Impossible, Top Gun, Star Trek and SpongeBob SquarePants into an environment where guests could already visit Warner Bros., Ferrari and SeaWorld attractions.
It would effectively give the newly combined entertainment company a second major branded attraction on the island.
The Man Who Could Make It Happen
Perhaps one of the more interesting pieces of this story is the involvement of Dave Cobb.
Cobb helped spearhead the creative development of Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi through Thinkwell. He is now vice president of creative for Paramount Global Experiences, where he oversees the creative vision for theme parks, attractions, exhibitions, hotels, resorts and other immersive experiences based around Paramount’s brands.
That is quite a résumé.
Cobb began his theme-park career at Universal Studios Hollywood in 1987 and subsequently worked on attractions including Back to the Future: The Ride, Terminator 2: 3-D and Men in Black: Alien Attack.
His work on Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi also helped the attraction earn the Liseberg Applause Award, one of the industry’s most prestigious honors.
So the person who helped build one of Warner Bros.’ most ambitious theme-park projects is now working on Paramount’s global experiences.
The timing is difficult to ignore.
But This Won’t Be Easy
Having the franchises is one thing.
Building a world-class theme park around them is something entirely different.
Disney and Universal have spent decades developing the infrastructure, creative teams and operational expertise required to turn entertainment properties into destinations.
Universal, in particular, has demonstrated just how powerful a single franchise can become through Harry Potter.
Warner Bros. knows that firsthand.
Universal currently operates Harry Potter attractions in markets where its licensing arrangements permit it, while Warner’s Abu Dhabi development represents an important exception to that global footprint.
That experience demonstrates the value of intellectual property in the theme-park business.
But it also demonstrates the enormous investment required to get it right.
A New Theme-Park Battle?
The Paramount-Warner Bros. combination doesn’t immediately mean a new theme-park empire will appear overnight.
There are licensing agreements, development costs, geography, intellectual-property rights and the question of whether the company actually wants to become a major park operator.
Warner itself has historically relied heavily on licensing and partnerships rather than owning a global collection of parks outright.
But Paramount now has something it didn’t have before:
scale.
It has a deeper library of franchises, Warner’s existing theme-park relationships and an established presence on Yas Island.
And perhaps most importantly, it has multiple properties capable of supporting attractions.
The potential is enormous.
The Next Chapter May Not Be on the Big Screen
That could ultimately be the most interesting consequence of the merger.
Paramount and Warner Bros. have spent decades creating movies and television shows that audiences watch.
The next opportunity is to let audiences walk into them.
Imagine entering a Mission: Impossible attraction where guests become part of an undercover operation.
A Top Gun land built around flight simulators and high-speed attractions.
A Star Trek experience that takes visitors aboard a starship.
A Lord of the Rings land.
A Game of Thrones attraction.
A Gremlins dark ride.
These aren’t announcements.
They’re possibilities.
But they demonstrate why this acquisition matters beyond Hollywood.
Paramount may have just acquired one of the world’s largest entertainment libraries — and with Warner Bros. already established in the theme-park business, the combined company now has the intellectual property and expertise to become a serious competitor in an industry dominated by Disney and Universal.
And if that future begins on Yas Island, the Middle East could find itself at the center of the next great theme-park battle.
For Paramount and Warner Bros., the movies may have been the beginning.
The attractions could be what comes next.
Reporting based on analysis published by Forbes’ Caroline Reid, with additional reporting from Associated Press and Reuters.
