Skydance Media

Background
Skydance Media (formerly Skydance Productions) is a production company founded by producer David Ellison. His sister, Megan, founded Annapurna Pictures.

1st Logo (December 22, 2010-July 31, 2015)
Nickname: "The Front of the Sun"

Logo: We start with a bright orange flash on one side of a giant letter. The camera zooms out to reveal the Sun and other letters floating in space, supported by metallic constructions. Then we move right and only the corona of the Sun remains in background. All letters leave their supports and form "SKYDANCE" word, with "PRODUCTIONS" underneath already formed.

Variants:
 * On the trailer for True Grit (the first film itself to use the first normal logo), part of the sun blur is seen and there is only the stars in the sky.
 * On Terminator Genisys and Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (the latter is the last movie to use this logo), the logo is enhanced to have the word "PRODUCTIONS" deleted and the sun's glowing is absent. "SKYDANCE" shines as the logo is formed and a trademark symbol appears next to the E in "SKYDANCE".

FX/SFX: The animation of the letters. Superb CGI from Picturemill.

Music/Sounds: A majestic orchestral fanfare. Sometimes, it's silent or it uses the opening theme of the movie.

Music/Sounds Trivia: The fanfare for this logo was written and composed by film composer Pinar Toprak. A behind the scenes video of the making of the fanfare was uploaded by Toprak herself and can be seen here.

Availability: First seen on True Grit, and also appears on Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol and G.I. Joe: Retaliation, among others. The version with music can be found on Picturemill's website and on Skydance's official YouTube channel. The last movie to use this logo was Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, released on July 31st, 2015. It made the last appearances on most trailers for Star Trek Beyond, as well as Jack Reacher: Never Go Back.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo (July 22, 2016-April 30, 2021)
Nicknames: "The Front of the Sun II", "The New Front of the Sun"

Logo: We fade into a sun (presumably our Sun) that is spinning. We zoom out as it gives off some form of solar flare. The zoom reveals coronal rain all over the sun, as a big serif "S" flies in from the left. A "K" then flies in, and so on, until we see the finished product. While all this is happening, we are still zooming out. We stop to reveal our finished product; the word "SKYDANCE" in a slightly-spaced out serif font. It shines and zooms in. The logo is set on a space background.

Variant: At the end of movies, the logo is still.

FX/SFX: The sun giving out a solar flare and coronal rain, the text flying in, and it shining while zooming in. Very nice CGI from Imaginary Forces.

Music/Sounds: Same as the previous logo.

Availability: First seen on Star Trek Beyond and later seen on films from the company from 2016 to 2021. The last movie to use this logo was Tom Clancy's Without Remorse, released on April 30, 2021.

Editor's Note: None.

3rd Logo (December 19, 2020, July 2, 2021-)
Nicknames: "The Front of the Sun III", "Above the Front of the Sun"

Logo: It starts off the same way the previous logo did: we fade into the sun giving off solar flares. After a second, we see an "E" fly in from the left, followed by an "N", and so on, until the letters form the "SKYDANCE" wordmark, with a curve at the bottom of the letters, flying above the sun. Then a flash of light draws an arch underneath "SKYDANCE". All of this takes place on a new purple space BG with galaxies in the background.

Trivia: This logo is based on the print logo Skydance introduced back in 2020.

Variants:
 * A variant celebrating Skydance's 10th anniversary also exists; this has "CELEBRATING 10 YEARS" underneath the arch. This first debuted on The Tomorrow War. Some people will be confused on this variation because the "CELEBRATING 10 YEARS" text marks the 10th anniversary of Skydance's first movie, True Grit.
 * Like the previous logo, at the end of movies, the logo is still.

FX/SFX: The sun giving out solar flares, the letters flying in, the camera rotating upwards, and the arch drawing itself in. Mind-blowing CGI!

Music/Sounds: So far, the opening theme of the movie.

Availability: Brand new. First debuted on the "About" section of the Skydance website in 2020, and later debuted on the Amazon Prime original movie The Tomorrow War, released on July 2, 2021. This logo is expected to be seen on future films from the company.

Editor's Note: Only time will tell if this logo uses the Pinar Toprak fanfare or not.