- WME has signed Evan Royalty (real name Evan Muir), the filmmaker behind YouTube's viral "SCP" horror-short universe.
- Agents Kelly Cannon and Marco Alvarez are leading the deal, with WME looking to grow Royalty's presence in film and TV and develop original IP and franchise opportunities.
- Since 2012, Royalty has built more than 779,000 YouTube subscribers and nearly 70 million lifetime views on shorts including SCP: First Contact, SCP: Dollhouse, and SCP: Overlord.
WME has signed Evan Royalty, the online name of filmmaker Evan Muir, for representation, with agents Kelly Cannon and Marco Alvarez leading the deal. The agency plans to grow Royalty’s work in film and television while developing original ideas and franchise opportunities.
Royalty built his audience on YouTube’s “SCP” horror trend, where creators adapt the SCP Foundation’s shared fictional lore about a secretive group containing dangerous anomalies into short films.
He’s become one of the format’s most-watched directors, releasing entries like SCP: First Contact, SCP: Dollhouse, and SCP: Overlord. Since launching his channel in 2012, he has drawn more than 779,000 subscribers and nearly 70 million lifetime views.
The signing continues a busy stretch for WME’s push into online talent. In July, the agency signed Love Island USA season 8 winner Trinity Tatum, aiming to grow her presence in fashion, TV, digital content, and brand deals, and also signed SNL cast member Sarah Sherman as she expands into film and TV. In May, WME signed Argentine YouTuber Alejo Igoa, who has more than 120 million subscribers, to handle his touring, brand, and licensing business worldwide.
The strategy is straightforward: creators with tens of millions of built-in views are cheaper to develop than stars built from scratch, and agencies want a cut before a rival signs them first. For Royalty, that could mean scaling his SCP universe into a bigger franchise or building something new.
Takeaways
This one’s less about a single creator and more about a pattern: WME keeps grabbing digital-native talent before Hollywood “discovers” them the traditional way.
Royalty joins a growing list of creators the agency has signed this year across wildly different lanes (reality TV, sketch comedy, and now horror shorts), which suggests WME is betting on internet-built audiences as a shortcut to franchise IP, not just a nice-to-have.
Does an SCP short-film universe have real franchise legs in film/TV, or does it work best staying scrappy and internet-native? Is WME buying access to Royalty’s audience, his storytelling voice, or both, and does that change what “success” looks like for this deal?
