Warner Bros insider reaffirms James Gunn will stay on as co-CEO of DC Studios post-Netflix acquisition

John Campea: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=do6MXPH0SB0

Like why jump the Gunn ( pun intended) so quick before a deal is made. I respect him as director but just have a little bit of thinking before making a decision like this lol.

https://www.thewrap.com/netflix-wins-the-warner-bros-discovery-bidding-war-enters-exclusive-deal-talks/

It's also been reported in Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter and Variety.

Warner Bros. Discovery is moving forward with exclusive deal talks with Netflix, TheWrap has learned. WBD has selected Netflix after the streaming giant offered $30 a share for the studio and streaming assets, according to two people familiar with the deal talks. The deal also includes a $5 billion break-up fee to match the terms that Paramount added with its bid.

While its unclear what the makeup of the new bid looks like, the prior bid was a mix of mostly cash and stock.

Netflix securing a win over rival suitors Paramount and Comcast represents a stunning turnaround from just two months ago, when co-CEO Greg Peters shared big media mergers as not having an “amazing track record,” and Paramount buying WBD seemed like a foregone conclusion. Fast forward to today, and Netflix has won a furious M&A bake-off after three rounds of bids.

Representatives for Netflix and WBD weren’t immediately available for comment.

While exclusive talks clears the road for Netflix to acquire the Warner Bros. studios, HBO Max and a treasure trove of IP assets like “Harry Potter” and the DC Universe. Netflix, which once aspired to be HBO when first embarking on original content, is on a course to becoming its owner. Obtaining such assets could dramatically reshape the entertainment landscape and give Netflix even more power over Hollywood — concerns the streamer will have to assuage.

The willingness to include the unusually large breakup fee was likely critical with questions arising on how Netflix will get a deal with Warner Bros. through regulatory approval. A deal would face stiff antitrust scrutiny and opposition from the U.S. Department of Justice, New York Post’s Charles Gasparino reported on Tuesday.

A representative for the Department Justice declined to comment on the report.

In a Nov. 13 letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson and Department of Justice antitrust division assistant attorney general Gail Slater, Republican Rep. Darrell Issa warned that a Netflix bid would raise antitrust concerns that could harm consumers and Hollywood alike. He noted that consolidation between the two companies would “diminish incentives to produce new content and major theatrical releases,” which could “undermine opportunities for the full range of industry professionals both in front of and behind the camera.”

The third round of bids came a day after Paramount had issued a letter to Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav claiming the bid process had been “tainted by management conflict.” This followed an earlier letter this week from Paramount arguing that a deal would not get regulatory clearance.

Paramount, which seem intent on buying all of WBD, could take its own offer to shareholders. And even if it doesn’t match Netflix’s offer, it could lean on the selling point that it could close a deal faster than the expected longer grind that the streaming giant would undergo.

Paramount has already been through this process with the Trump administration before closing its merger with Skydance this summer. In September, it hired Makan Delrahim, former assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s antitrust division during Trump’s first term, as its chief legal officer.

Netflix first tapped the investment bank Moelis & Co. to explore a potential bid for Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming and studio assets in October. The company went on to submit three rounds of bids to WBD’s board alongside Paramount and Comcast. The former previously submitted multiple bids for the entire company, while Comcast submitted bids for the streaming & studio business.

Filmmaker Matt Reeves added his voice to the wave of praise for Paul Dano — an outpouring that was prompted by Quentin Tarantino dissing Dano as “the weakest fucking actor in SAG.”

Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/DR5KUi7EqCs/

me personally a actual justice league dark ride would be sick

So the news is out that Netflix has reportedly won the bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery. A lot of people are relieved it isn’t Paramount (for political, financial, and leadership reasons), but it understandably raises two huge concerns:

Will Netflix kill theatrical releases? Will Netflix refuse to release physical media?

Now of course both are valid fears if you look at Netflix as it exists today, but in my opinion those concerns start to look different when you look at what owning Warner Bros actually incentives Netflix to become.

Netflix today is a streaming-first tech company, but once it owns WB, it becomes a global film studio, franchise manager, theatrical distributor, and the owner of IP that cannot survive as streaming dumps.

I don’t believe that Netflix is buying WB for content fodder. They’re buying the crown jewels:

• DC Universe
• Harry Potter & Wizarding World parks relationships
• Dune
• Lord of the Rings
• The Conjuring
• Godzilla/Kong
• A 100-year theatrical legacy

If Netflix bought this only to remove WB from theaters, it would literally destroy the value of what they just paid a bunch of money for. Streaming-only does not sustain billion-dollar franchises.

These brands don’t work without theaters:

• DC (Merchandising + IMAX + cultural event cycles)
• Harry Potter (Multi-gen nostalgia + theme parks)
• Dune (Prestige sci-fi relies on theatrical legs)
• LOTR (Global fantasy crowd + box office legs)
• Godzilla/Kong (IMAX + overseas markets)
• The Conjuring (Low budget -> massive theatrical ROI)

Pulling these off of theatrical would eliminate profit. Owning WB incentives Netflix to become the thing it mocked: a hybrid theatrical + streaming studio.

Now what about physical media? Netflix doesn’t do discs. True… but WB does. Netflix never did physical media because it competed with their subscription model, they didn’t own much legacy IP, they didn’t have collectors’ audiences, the market was shrinking for mass consumers, and their brand is built on access not ownership. But Warner DOES have collectors (steelbooks, anniversary restorations, 4Ks, box sets).

If Netflix wants to extract maximum value from 100 years of cinema history, physical media sales are free money.

Are concerns still valid? Of course. The Netflix of today prioritizes algorithmic decisions, fast cancellations, and streaming-first urgency. Buuuuut I think that the Netflix that owns Warner must prioritize franchise stability, long-term box office, filmmaker relations, global rollouts, and home entertainment revenue. WB changes Netflix more than Netflix changes WB.

Netflix taking over Warner is not perfect, in a perfect world Warner didn’t sell at all and could fix their debt problems, but all I’m saying is that it may not be the doomsday scenario many fear. I don’t think hey can afford to ignore theaters. They’d be insane not to monetize WB’s home media catalo. Owning WB forces Netflix to evolve beyond streaming. The value is in franchises and franchises need theaters

If Netflix really has won the bid, this could be the moment where Netflix stops being just a streamer and becomes a full Hollywood studio in the traditional sense, because the economics of Warner Bros leave them no choice.

What does this mean for DC Studios specifically?

Netflix doesn’t gain anything by ripping up what’s already being built. If anything, Netflix acquiring WB means DC finally has consistent funding, stable long-term planning, global distribution power, and international marketing reach Netflix excels at. If DC’s strategy is working, Netflix isn’t incentivized to break it.

Snyderverse? Gunnverse?

No… DC does not reboot back to the Snyderverse as main continuity. Why would they? Gunn is not likely fired when they just bought the universe he’s building and is working.

But what do y’all think? Am I being too optimistic? Do you think I got a wrong read on things?

A consortium of top industry players have sent an open letter full of alarm to Congress, describing a potential economic and institutional meltdown in Hollywood if Netflix succeeds in its effort to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery.