Mark Ruffalo urges states to fight on after Paramount-Warner Bros approval
Mark Ruffalo has condemned Paramount Skydance's takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery as a bad deal for the country that should never have been approved. His protest came after federal clearance, in posts on Threads and X on Wednesday, 30 September, according to Variety.
In the statement, shared on X, he said the deal will stifle creativity, weaken free speech and cost people their jobs. It was short. It was direct.
In a message addressed to California Attorney General Rob Bonta, the state's chief lawyer, Ruffalo pointed to opposition from 5,670 filmmakers and more than 75,000 signatories. He urged Bonta and a coalition of 11 other state attorneys general not to settle their lawsuit against Paramount Skydance.
The appeal keeps alive a legal fight that runs alongside the federal approval. The U.S. Justice Department approved Paramount Skydance's $111-billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, the owner of the Warner Bros. studio, HBO and CNN, according to the Los Angeles Times. A deal of that size would fold two large film and television libraries, and their production pipelines, into one company led by Paramount chief David Ellison.
U.S. antitrust regulators had appeared ready to clear a $110-billion version of the takeover, Reuters reported in May. That figure was later put at $111 billion at the point of Justice Department approval. The difference reflects updated deal terms reported as the process moved forward.
The states offer a separate path. On 24 July, Paramount agreed to pause the acquisition until after a ruling on a challenge brought by 12 states. If that lawsuit continues, it would effectively block Ellison from completing the purchase.
Ruffalo said the grassroots organisation that opposed the merger will not fade away. He asked the state lawyers not to settle. He framed the campaign as continuing.
For people who just watch the films and shows, this dispute is about who gets to make them. Fewer owners mean fewer buyers for scripts, fewer slots for directors and crews, and fewer doors for independent stories to reach a cinema or a streaming home. Ruffalo argues that is why jobs, speech and creative choice are all part of the same fight.
