Thunder Road and Lit Entertainment Launch TR/AK to Scale Original Film and TV for Global Audiences

Two independent Hollywood shops that already share a pipeline of specs and stars have formalized the relationship into a new banner. On September 9, 2026, Thunder Road Films’ Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee partnered with Lit Entertainment Group founder Adam Kolbrenner to launch TR/AK, a media company aimed at commercially ambitious, original film and television for global audiences, according to Deadline and Variety.

Thunder Road, the company behind the John Wick franchise, and Lit, a management and production firm whose writing clients include Shōgun and Top Gun: Maverick writer Justin Marks, will keep operating as independent brands. TR/AK launches with an existing creative pipeline and plans to staff finance, operations and corporate roles as its infrastructure is built. CAA Evolution advised on the transaction.

The business case is scale without a studio mothership. Deadline cites Thunder Road films’ cumulative worldwide gross above $4.4 billion and Lit-client projects above $7 billion at the global box office, plus thousands of hours of television. Variety adds Lit’s library of more than 10,000 stories and characters through partnerships including NeoText, Weird Tales, Heavy Metal, Meridia Books, Weekly World News and Zenescope Comics.

Iwanyk described the venture as a growth strategy years in the making, saying the partners share a vision for an expansive independent company. Kolbrenner said TR/AK is about bringing teams together, backing writers and filmmakers, and developing projects that connect with audiences around the world.

The collaboration is already visible on screens and festival calendars. The trades point to three Lit-client specs produced with Thunder Road: Sascha Penn’s By Any Means, starring Mark Wahlberg and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, released by Paramount on September 4; Roshan Sethi’s The Surgeon, starring Michelle Yeoh and Martin Freeman and heading toward TIFF; and Zach Dean’s Day Drinker, an action thriller for Lionsgate directed by Marc Webb and starring Johnny Depp, Penélope Cruz and Madelyn Cline. Day Drinker is dated for March 26, 2027.

Thunder Road’s slate includes Hivemind, an environmental thriller starring Samara Weaving and Nicholas Braun, plus A24’s The Peasant, Amazon MGM’s The Kellys, the Walton Goggins vehicle Mister, and Caine, the latest John Wick chapter starring and directed by Donnie Yen. Lit’s roster includes writers behind Snowfall, Justified, The Gorge, The Tomorrow War, Safe House and Free Guy.

From a studio-business perspective, TR/AK is an independent roll-up of relationships rather than a private-equity-backed content fund with a published check size. No acquisition price or initial slate budget was disclosed. What is verifiable is the new banner, the independent status of its parent companies, the CAA Evolution advisory role, and a shared pipeline already delivering theatrical and festival titles.

For iShook Daily studio readers, the takeaway is packaging power: management-side writers plus a franchise-proven production company under one go-to-market brand, aimed at global commercial originals. Whether TR/AK becomes a financing destination or remains a development-and-production badge will show up in its next greenlights.