Joel Silver has resigned from Silver Pictures, the production outfit he established in 1980, TheWrap has learned. No reason was given for the producer’s exit.
“Joel Silver recently indicated that he intends to leave Silver Pictures and go out on his own. We are working with him to define a productive way forward, given his ongoing contractual obligations to the company,” Silver Pictures CEO Hal Sadoff said in a statement provided to TheWrap. “Meanwhile, we are continuing to move ahead with our slate of exciting projects and have had very positive discussions with our studio partners around town.”
Sadoff, who joined Silver Pictures after leaving ICM in 2012, will run the company following Silver’s exit.
Joel Silver’s representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment from TheWrap.
The company has produced the “Lethal Weapon,” “Die Hard,” “The Matrix” franchises, as well as projects like “Predator,” “Tales From the Crypt,” “V for Vendetta” and “The Nice Guys.”
The company also produced “Veronica Mars,” a TV series starring Kristen Bell as a crime-fighting teen that ran for three seasons in 2004-07; a Hulu revival is due to launch next month.
Silver Pictures is also developing a third installment in the “Sherlock Holmes” series starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law; that film is currently slated for release on December 22, 2021, with “Narcos” co-creator Chris Brancato attached to write the script, though no director is currently attached.
Deadline first reported the news.