(Reuters) -Three members on the board of Paramount Global ( PARAA ) are expected to exit the entertainment giant amid merger talks with Skydance Media, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the situation.

Earlier this month, a source told Reuters that Paramount's board agreed to enter exclusive merger talks with Skydance Media, led by CEO David Ellison, son of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison.

A merger could result in Ellison combining Paramount with his independent media house that is behind films such as "Top Gun: Maverick" and "Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One."

Paramount Global ( PARAA ) did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the Journal report.

Former Spotify executive Dawn Ostroff, Nicole Seligman, ex-president of Sony Entertainment and Rob Klieger, an attorney for Redstone, are expected to step down from the board in coming weeks, the Journal reported.

Seligman and Ostroff are on a special committee of independent board directors tasked with pursuing the best possible deal for Paramount, whether that is with Skydance or another suitor, the report added.

(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)