Thunder Road Films and Lit Entertainment Group are joining forces to launch a new production banner designed to develop original stories and commercially ambitious film and television projects for audiences around the world.
The new company, called TR/AK, brings together two established Hollywood operations with experience in producing films, developing screenplays and working with some of the industry’s leading writers and filmmakers.
The venture was announced September 9, 2026, and represents a formal expansion of a creative relationship that has already produced several projects.
A New Partnership Takes Shape
TR/AK is being launched by Thunder Road Films founder Basil Iwanyk and partner Erica Lee alongside Lit Entertainment Group founder Adam Kolbrenner.
The new media company will focus on original storytelling, creators and film and television projects with international commercial potential.
Although the new banner will operate as a separate venture, Thunder Road and Lit Entertainment will continue to maintain their existing brands and businesses independently.
The companies are expected to add executives as TR/AK develops its financial, operational and corporate infrastructure.
Thunder Road’s Hollywood Track Record
Thunder Road Films has become one of Hollywood’s notable production companies, particularly through its involvement with major action and thriller projects.
The company is best known for its work on the John Wick franchise, as well as films including The Town, Sicario and Wind River.
According to reports surrounding the launch, films produced by Thunder Road have collectively generated more than $4.4 billion at the worldwide box office.
The company has also been involved with projects such as A Star Is Born, Greenland, Ballerina, Monkey Man and Sicario: Day of the Soldado.
Its upcoming slate includes several projects across different genres, demonstrating the company’s interest in both commercial entertainment and filmmaker-driven stories.
Lit Entertainment Brings a Strong Writer Network
Lit Entertainment Group brings a different but complementary strength to the partnership.
Founded by Adam Kolbrenner, the company represents writers and creators working across film and television.
Its roster includes creators such as Justin Marks, known for Shōgun and Top Gun: Maverick, Dave Andron of Snowfall and Justified, and Zach Dean, who wrote The Gorge and The Tomorrow War.
Other Lit clients include David Guggenheim, Aaron Guzikowski, Matt Lieberman, Sascha Penn, Matt Lopez, Liz Garcia, Ben Jacoby, Roshan Sethi and Justin Rhodes.
Projects written by Lit clients have collectively generated more than $7 billion at the global box office, while their television work represents thousands of hours of programming.
That combination gives TR/AK access to a broad pipeline of established writers, original ideas and potential film and television projects.
A Partnership Already in Motion
While TR/AK is a new company, the relationship between the founders is not new.
Thunder Road and Lit have already collaborated on multiple films based on original screenplays from Lit clients.
One of those projects is The Surgeon, written by Roshan Sethi and starring Michelle Yeoh and Martin Freeman. The film is scheduled to have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The companies also worked on Day Drinker, directed by Marc Webb and written by Zach Dean. The Lionsgate project stars Johnny Depp, Penélope Cruz and Madelyn Cline and is scheduled for release in March 2027.
Another collaboration is By Any Means, written by Sascha Penn and starring Mark Wahlberg and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. The film was released September 4.
These projects helped demonstrate the potential of bringing Thunder Road’s production experience together with Lit’s network of writers and creators.
Focus on Original and Commercial Stories
One of the key goals of TR/AK will be finding stories that can combine creative ambition with broad audience appeal.
The company is being positioned as an independent media operation at a time when studios, streamers and production companies are competing for projects that can work across international markets.
For filmmakers and writers, a company such as TR/AK could provide another avenue for original ideas to move from screenplay development into production.
The partnership also gives the founders an opportunity to build projects around creators rather than relying exclusively on established intellectual property.
A Growing Production Slate
Thunder Road already has several projects in development and production that illustrate the company’s broader ambitions.
Its upcoming slate includes The Peasant, an A24 project directed by and starring Dev Patel; The Kellys, written and directed by Brad Peyton for Amazon; Mister, an action project centered on Walton Goggins; and Caine, the latest entry in the John Wick universe, directed by and starring Donnie Yen.
Other titles connected to the company include Perfect Girl, Breaking Point, Crawlers, Dangerous Games and Blasphemous.
The company is also currently in production on Hivemind, starring Samara Weaving and Nicholas Braun.
With TR/AK now added to the picture, Thunder Road’s production ambitions could expand even further.
A Large Library of Stories
Lit Entertainment also brings access to a substantial collection of intellectual property through partnerships with companies and publishers including NeoText, Weird Tales, Heavy Metal, Meridia Books, Weekly World News and Zenescope Comics.
The library includes more than 10,000 stories and characters.
That gives TR/AK another potential source of material as it develops its film and television strategy.
While the company has emphasized original storytelling, a large library of established stories can provide additional opportunities for adaptations and franchise development.
What TR/AK Could Mean for Hollywood
The launch of TR/AK comes during a period when independent production companies are looking for new ways to compete in an increasingly crowded entertainment market.
Large studios and streaming platforms continue to control significant portions of film and television distribution, but independent producers can offer flexibility and closer relationships with writers and filmmakers.
Thunder Road’s production expertise and Lit’s creative network could give the new banner a distinctive position in that environment.
The company’s emphasis on commercially ambitious projects also suggests that TR/AK is not intended simply as a development label. The founders appear to be aiming for a substantial independent company capable of building projects for audiences beyond the United States.
The Future of TR/AK
For Basil Iwanyk, Erica Lee and Adam Kolbrenner, the new company represents the next stage of a relationship that has already produced successful collaborations.
Thunder Road brings years of experience producing major commercial films, while Lit contributes a network of writers, creators and original material.
By combining those strengths under TR/AK, the partners are creating a new platform for developing stories that can potentially move across film, television and international markets.
The company will now begin building out its executive structure, finance operations and corporate infrastructure while continuing to develop projects through its existing creative pipeline.
As Hollywood continues to evolve, TR/AK’s launch highlights the growing importance of partnerships between producers, managers, writers and creators.
With an established pipeline already in place, the new banner enters the market with considerable experience behind it—and an ambitious plan for what comes next.
