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Skydance-owned Paramount is expected to close its $81 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery on Tuesday.
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Paramount → log → Tuesday
The new Hollywood giant will have a shorter nametag: “Skydance.”
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giant → have → nametag
But it marks one of the biggest tie-ups ever in the media and entertainment industry.
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it → mark → industry
The merger brings two of America’s oldest moviemaking studios together — along with HBO Max, titles ranging from “Harry Potter” to “Sinners” and even networks like CNN will soon find themselves under the same roof as Paramount+, CBS and the likes of “Top Gun” and “The Godfather."
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titles → bring → Gun
All of them will come under the helm of billionaire David Ellison and his new co-CEO Ynon Kreiz.
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All → come → Ellison
That further concentrates power in an industry already run by just a handful of major players.
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That → concentrate → players
Ellison’s Skydance bought out Paramount for $8 billion just last year, and set its sights on Warner — an even bigger fish — very soon after.
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Skydance → buy → Warner
What followed erupted into a tumultuous, yearlong fight over Warner’s fate.
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followed → follow → fate
Including billions of dollars in debt, Paramount’s buyout of Warner amounts to nearly $111 billion today.
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buyout → include → billion
Here's a look at some of the key moments that got us here.
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that → get → us
The early days of Paramount's quest for Warner turned into a messy bidding war.
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days → turn → war
Months after disclosing it was open to selling parts or even all of its business, Warner initially struck a studio and streaming deal with Netflix back in December.
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Warner → disclose → December
But Skydance-owned Paramount, which claimed Warner management “never engaged meaningfully” with its previous proposals, soon launched a hostile counterbid aimed at taking over the entire company — including networks like CNN and Discovery.
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management → own → CNN
The Hollywood giants spent much of early 2026 in a heated back-and-forth over who had a stronger offer on the table, with Warner leadership repeatedly backing Netflix as its preferred suitor.
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leadership → spend → suitor
But Paramount eventually upped its offer to buy all of Warner for $31 per share, and Netflix opted to bow out of the race.
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Netflix → up → race
Warner and Paramount inked a mutual merger agreement by late February.
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Warner → ink → February
The response from Hollywood
Hollywood was closely watching the fight over Warner's future.
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Hollywood → watch → future
And from awards shows to online petitions, A-list celebrities and other creatives made their voices known.
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voices → make → petitions
In April, thousands of movie stars, writers, directors and other professionals announced their “unequivocal opposition” to the Paramount-Warner merger.
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thousands → announce → merger
The open letter — which was signed by long-outspoken critics of the deal like Jane Fonda and Mark Ruffalo, as well as Hollywood heavyweights from Denis Villeneuve to J.J. Abrams — warned of fewer jobs and “less choice for audiences in the United States and around the world.”
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which → sign → world
Meanwhile, some other stars lined up to back Paramount as Ellison reiterated his commitments to the movies.
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Ellison → line → movies
At CinemaCon this past spring, the company debuted a glossy mini movie about the studio directed by Jon M. Chu and narrated by Tom Cruise — who ended the spot atop the iconic Paramount water tower, with the words “the future is paramount and the future looks pretty great from here."
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future → debut → words
Director James Cameron also doubled down on his support of Ellison.
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Cameron → double → Ellison
The prospect of a new Warner owner also loomed over awards season this year, from #BlockTheMerger pins to more subtle nods in acceptance speeches.
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prospect → loom → speeches
When accepting her Emmy last month, “Remarkably Bright Creatures” actor Sally Field — who also signed the open letter in opposition to the Paramount-Warner deal — stressed that “unique storytelling matters” and “we can’t let those voices be silenced, or compromised or merged.”
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voices → accept → deal
Many industry critics were also outspoken when Netflix's studio and streaming deal was on the table, with particular focus on the future of movies staying in theaters.
Trump and CNN
Trump has regularly attacked reporting he deems unfavorable at CNN (most recently attempting to bar the outlet from the White House altogether).
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he → stay → House
And over the course of the Warner buyout, his administration wasn't afraid to chime in about hopes for a new owner.
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administration → chime → owner
In December — days after Paramount launched its hostile bid for Warner — the president said that CNN spread “poison and lies,” adding that “I think the people who have run CNN for the last long period of time are a disgrace" and "it’s imperative that CNN be sold.”
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CNN → launch → time
The White House took aim again at CNN in March, over the network's coverage of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.
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House → take → Iran
At the time, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told reporters that “the sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better.”
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Ellison → tell → network
Ellison has said editorial independence will be maintained at CNN, and under a since-finalized settlement with the states, the company also agreed to form a “News Editorial Independence Board."
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company → say → Board
But critics point to turmoil already seen at CBS under Skydance ownership — and aren’t convinced this new body will move the needle much, because Ellison is set to have ample oversight over appointments.
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Ellison → point → appointments
Outside this board, however, the combined company is retaining Mark Thompson as CNN’s editor-in-chief.
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company → retain → chief
Trump has separately continued to criticize CBS coverage under Skydance ownership.
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Trump → continue → ownership
Still, the president has held a long relationship with the billionaire Ellison family.
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president → hold → family
Paramount's chief reportedly hosted a dinner in Washington in Trump’s honor back in April, on the same day Warner shareholders gave their greenlight for the merger.
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shareholders → host → merger
And in June, just two days after the U.S. Justice Department said it wouldn't intervene in the deal, Ellison attended an Ultimate Fighting Championship match on the White House lawn for Trump’s 80th birthday (streamed by Paramount+).
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Ellison → say → Paramount+
Gulf money
To help fund its Warner buyout, Paramount racked up billions of dollars in financial backing from three Gulf countries: Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
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Paramount → help → countries
The Federal Communications Commission approved the company’s request for sizeable indirect ownership from those foreign investors.
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Commission → approve → investors
Paramount previously disclosed it expected those funds to indirectly own nearly 50% of equity interests — but no voting rights — of what is now the larger Skydance.
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what → disclose → interests
…and 10 more, not listed.
The Aporia
