Thunder Road Films founder Basil Iwanyk and partner Erica Lee are joining forces with Lit Entertainment Group founder Adam Kolbrenner to launch TR/AK, a new media company centered on original stories, creators and commercially ambitious film and television for global audiences, the company announced Wednesday.
The new banner brings together the company behind the “John Wick” franchise, “The Town,” “Sicario” and “Wind River” with the management and production company representing writers and creators like Justin Marks (“Shogun,” “Top Gun: Maverick”), Dave Andron (“Snowfall,” “Justified”), Zach Dean (“The Gorge,” “The Tomorrow War”), David Guggenheim (“Safe House,” “Designated Survivor”), Roshan Sethi (“The Surgeon”), Aaron Guzikowski (“Prisoners”), Matt Lieberman (“Free Guy,” “Christmas Chronicles”), Sascha Penn (“By Any Means,” “Raising Kanan”), Matt Lopez (“Father of the Bride,” “Sheriff Country”), Liz Garcia (“Purple Hearts”), Ben Jacoby (“Whisper Man”), and Justin Rhodes (“Liminal”).
Thunder Road’s films have collectively grossed more than $4.4 billion worldwide, while projects written by Lit clients have generated more than $7 billion at the global box office, in addition to thousands of hours of television.
TR/AK launches with an established creative pipeline and plans for significant growth, according to a press release. While Thunder Road and Lit brands will remain independent, there will be additional executive appointments expected as the company builds out its finance, operations and corporate infrastructure.
Lit also represents a dynamic library of more than 10,000 stories and characters through partnerships with NeoText, Weird Tales, Heavy Metal, Meridia Books, Weekly World News, Zenescope Comics and others.
The launch formalizes a long-standing collaboration among Iwanyk, Lee and Kolbrenner that most recently spans three films all from spec screenplays from Lit clients: Roshan Sethi’s “The Surgeon,” starring Michelle Yeoh and Martin Freeman, which will have its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival; Marc Webb’s upcoming “Day Drinker” for Lionsgate written by Zach Dean starring Johnny Depp, Penélope Cruz and Madelyn Cline, set for release Mar. 26, 2027; and “By Any Means,” starring Mark Wahlberg and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, which launched Sept. 4 written by Sascha Penn.
“Erica and I have been thinking of how to grow Thunder Road for years and Adam is a longtime friend and collaborator with us. The more we talked, the more we realized we had a shared vision and ambition in creating the most expansive and dynamic independent company in town” Iwanyk said in a statement to TheWrap.
“Basil, Erica and the Thunder Road team have built their company by trusting their instincts and doing the work required to get ambitious movies made,” Kolbrenner added. “That’s very much how we operate at Lit. TR/AK is about bringing those teams together, backing great writers and filmmakers for projects that can connect with audiences around the world.”
CAA Media Finance-Evolution was a strategic advisor on the transaction.
