Former Warner Bros. Executive Blair Rich Joins Legendary Entertainment as Chief Marketing and Commercial Officer

Blair Rich, a former top executive at Warner Bros., has joined Legendary Entertainment, the producer of the “Dune” and Monsterverse franchises, as chief marketing and commercial officer.

The hire comes at an eventful time for Legendary, which recently bought out Dalian Wanda Group, the Chinese conglomerate that had a majority ownership stake in the company, while signaling that it plans to be an active player in future mergers and acquisitions activity in the media space. Rich has been advising Legendary for the past year, helping the company devise the marketing campaigns for “Dune: Part Two” and “Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire,” both of which were big hits.

In a press release announcing her new role, Legendary said that Rich will help expand its business, including the company’s “adoption of new technologies across marketing and data analytics.” At Warner Bros., where Rich rose to become president of worldwide marketing, she was known as being an advocate for using data on promotional campaigns for movies. At Legendary, Rich will report to CEO Joshua Grode, and additionally to Chair of Production Mary Parent for film marketing matters.

“Blair is a creative innovator. She brings an outstanding history of building some of the most dominant brands and entertainment franchises in the world,” said Grode in a statement. “Her addition to our best-in-class Legendary team, with her future-facing approach to global entertainment and her exceptional combination of strategic and creative expertise, will raise the bar for everyone at Legendary. We are now stronger than ever as we enter a new phase of our long-term strategic growth plan.”

“I am thrilled to join Josh, Mary, and the talented Legendary team, who have built one of the most dynamic companies in our industry with a focus on first-rate content,” said Rich. “In today’s ever- evolving landscape, reaching consumers requires both innovation and boundless creativity. In Legendary’s next evolution, we are committed to engaging people in unique, memorable ways, fostering connections that inspire and elevate their experience with our brands while expanding and optimizing new business and revenue opportunities.”

Prior to Legendary, Rich served as president and chief business officer, commercial and consumer operations of Virgin Galactic, where she worked on the company’s first space tourism product, and oversaw all aspects of the company’s consumer-facing division. Previously, she spent more than two decades with Warner Bros. Entertainment, working on major franchises such as Harry Potter and the DC Comics Film Universe.

Legendary’s upcoming projects include “A Minecraft Movie,” as well as an untitled Alejandro G. Iñárritu film starring Tom Cruise and an additional event film from Denis Villeneuve. The company’s current and upcoming series include “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters,” which was renewed by Apple TV+ and received an order for multiple spinoffs.