Tech film Unity, the maker of the real-time video game engine of the same name, has entered an agreement to acquire Peter Jackson’s New Zealand-based VFX house Weta Digital for $1.625 billion with a combination of cash and stock.
Weta Digital has been behind the Oscar-winning effects of many of the biggest movies of the past two decades from “Avatar” to “The Lord of the Rings” and are essentially up there with ILM in terms of being considered the pre-eminent film visual effects house on the planet.
The deal is expected to close before the end of the year and aims to help accelerate the fast-growing area of virtual production in filmed entertainment (ie. the same tech used in “The Mandalorian”). James Cameron and Jon Landau are currently working with Weta Digital on the various “Avatar” sequels.
Source: THR
