Michael Ireland, a 1995 graduate of Southwestern Central School, has joined Warner Bros. Pictures Group as president of production.

The news was announced by the company in February, with Ireland starting the new position in March. In an email posted by thewrap.com in February, Jesse Ehrman, Warner Bros. president of production, lauded Ireland’s work at Paramount Pictures from 2020 through 2025. Among the movies that Ireland had a hand in producing were Mission: Impossible, A Quiet Place, Scream, Sonic the Hedgehog, Transformers, Dungeons & Dragons, The Naked Gun, and Mean Girls: The Musical, as well as original hits like Smile and Bob Marley: One Love. Previously, he spent eight years at 20th Century Fox overseeing projects including Free Guy and Alita: Battle Angel. Ireland started his career at MTV and then moved to Leonardo DiCaprio’s Apian Way in 2007 before joining 20th Century Fox in 2012, where he rose to senior vice president of production.

A USC film school graduate, he earned his screenwriting degree in 1999.

“Joining Warner Bros. at this moment feels like being invited onto the 1927 Yankees — a team at the very top of its game,” Ireland said in an email to staff, according to thewrap.com. “There is a real sense of purpose here and a shared belief in what great storytelling can do. I’m genuinely excited to collaborate with Pam, Mike, and Jesse to help carry the studio’s momentum forward.”

Ireland also has found himself in the middle of two hotly contested media company mergers. Ireland left Paramount Motion Picture Group during the merger of Paramount with Skydance, though Variety reported that Ireland stayed on as a consultant during the transition while considering an offer for a producing deal with the studio. The merger of Skydance Media and Paramount Global officially closed Aug. 7.

Shareholders of Warner Bros. Discovery approved an $81 billion sale of the company in April – roughly a month after Ireland began his new position with Warner Bros. Including debt, the proposed buyout valued at nearly $111 billion based on Warner’s current outstanding shares.The deal still faces regulatory review, but the merger could reshape Hollywood and the wider media landscape, further consolidating power in an industry already run by just a handful of major players.

Paramount Skydance would own both Paramount+ and, with the sale approved by shareholders Thursday, Warner’s HBO Max. Company executives have said that they would combine these streamers into one platform.