J.J. Abrams Scaling Down Bad Robot As He Moves to New York

Bad Robot Logo Courtesy Logo text

A new phase for Bad Robot is coming into view. The once high flying production company led by J.J. Abrams is scaling down operations and reorganizing as it shuts down its Los Angeles office and moves to New York, where Abrams now resides.

The move comes after the company sold its longtime Santa Monica headquarters for $31 million in November and had shed employees in recent years. At its height, the Bad Robot building had hundreds of people working inside it, including members of its in-house visual effects company, Kelvin Optical.

Ariana Grande, Josh Gad to Lead Dr. Seuss' 'Oh, the Places You'll Go!' Animated Movie

Movies

'Emily the Strange' Animated Movie in the Works From Warner Bros., Bad Robot

The company was founded in 1999 has been responsible for a myriad of hits, starting with 2001’s Alias, and eventually adding 2004’s Lost, 2008’s Fringe, 2011’s Person of Interest and 2016’s Westworld on the TV side.

The company’s film side had its first success with 2001’s Joy Ride, followed by 2008’s Cloverfield and 2009’s Star Trek reboot, directed by Abrams. After Abrams directed 2006’s third Mission: Impossible film, the company co-produced the next three M:I films. Similarly, when Abrams took the reigns of Star Wars for Lucasfilm, Bad Robot produced 2015’s blockbuster Star Wars: The Force Awakens and 2019’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

It’s been awhile, however, since Bad Robot had much mainstream success. The company produces Apple TV’s Presumed Innocent with David E. Kelley Productions (season two began filming late last year), but the retro action-comedy Duster, which Abrams co-created, was a one-season-and-done release for HBO Max last year. And Rise of Skywalker represents the company’s last major feature film.

The company was originally set up at Touchstone Television. But in 2019, riding high after its streak of elevated genre hits, WarnerMedia won a bidding war for a five-year overall deal film and TV deal with Bad Robot that was worth $250 million. In 2024, the deal was extended for another two years but became a non-exclusive, first-look pact.

There are several upcoming projects from Bad Robot still to be released. The company has the Abrams-directed The Great Beyond due out Nov. 13, and director David Robert Mitchell’s high-concept dinosaur feature The End of Oak Street arriving Aug. 16, both from Warner Bros. It’s also attached to produce the 2028 Dr. Seuss adaptation Oh, The Places You’ll Go from directors Jon M. Chu and Jill Culton.