Hader, Wan, Nintendo's Pritchard Join Variety Summit
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- Bill Hader joins as a headlining speaker, with his Emmy/DGA/PGA-winning "Barry" work, upcoming Warner Bros. Animation's "The Cat in the Hat," and his horror feature directorial debut "They Know" slated for discussion.
- James Wan will discuss blockbuster franchises spanning "Aquaman," "The Conjuring," "Insidious," "Saw," "Mortal Kombat" and "M3GAN," plus his 2026 producing slate including "Insidious: Out of the Further" and "Other Mommy."
- Devon Pritchard, Nintendo of America president and COO, will share perspectives on delivering experiences to Nintendo customers in North America through games, characters and worlds.
- Nick Kroll will discuss his creative vision across FX's "Adults," Netflix animated series "Mating Season," "Human Resources" and Emmy-nominated "Big Mouth," plus his co-created Netflix series "A Hundred Percent."
- Keith Le Goy, Sony Pictures Television chairman, will detail leadership over franchises including "Wheel of Fortune," "Jeopardy," "The Boys," "The Last of Us," "Shark Tank" and "Pluribus."
- AI-focused panels include "Beyond the Screen" with Warner Bros. Discovery and EY, and "Entertainment and Media in the Age of AI" featuring Lionsgate, Hasbro, Google, Adobe, Netflix and Teads executives.
- EY's Javi Borges said the summit's timing is "critical," citing AI, gaming, streaming and fandom-driven engagement as forces transforming how audiences discover, experience and connect with content.
Why it matters: The Sept. 17 summit assembles studio chiefs, A-list creators, and gaming/streaming/AI leaders in one room — Variety explicitly cites AI, gaming and fandom engagement as forces transforming content discovery, making this a high-signal setting where Hollywood's 2026 slates and AI playbooks will be shaped behind the scenes.
