Legendary Entertainment is eyeing a deal to acquire Lionsgate Studios, following the latter company’s recent separation from Starz, Variety has confirmed.

The status of the two companies’ deal talks could not be learned. If completed, the deal would bring together Legendary, which is behind the Dune movie franchise and a “monster-verse” collection that includes several Godzilla movies, with Lionsgate, whose film franchises include John Wick and the Hunger Games. Legendary first reached out about a potential partnership with Lionsgate Studios following the split-off of Starz in May.

Reps for Legendary and Lionsgate declined to comment. The news was first reported by Bloomberg.

As of the end of regular trading Friday, Lionsgate Studios had a market capitalization of about $2 billion. The company’s stock shot up 20% on the initial Bloomberg report.

Lionsgate Studios formally separated from the Starz business effective May 7. Lionsgate Studios, comprising its TV and film production and distribution divisions and a content library with 20,000-plus titles, merged last year with Screaming Eagle Acquisition Corp., a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) and became a separately traded entity (with 87.3% of the total shares of Lionsgate Studios held by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.).

Meanwhile, Legendary last year bought out the stake Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group owned in the company. The pact left Legendary and private-equity firm Apollo Global Management, which acquired a stake in Legendary in 2022 for $760 million, in control of the company.

Among the Legendary Pictures’ slate was this year’s blockbuster “A Minecraft Movie,” as well as films including “The Hangover,” “The Dark Knight” and “Enola Holmes.” In aggregate, Legendary Pictures-associated productions have grossed more than $20 billion worldwide at the box office, according to the company. Legendary’s TV productions have included “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” for Apple TV+ and “Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft” for Netflix.

Pictured above: Keanu Reeves in Lionsgate’s “John Wick: Chapter 4”