Hollywood stars sign open letter protesting the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger

MediaHollywood stars sign open letter protesting the Paramount-Warner Bros. mergerThe signatories warned that the blockbuster corporate union would shrink competition "at a moment when our industries—and the audiences we serve—can least afford it."Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, Calif.; Paramount Pictures lot in Los Angeles.Getty ImagesShareAdd NBC News to GoogleApril 13, 2026, 10:02 AM EDTBy Daniel ArkinBryan Cranston, Jane Fonda, Joaquin Phoenix and more than 1,000 other Hollywood professionals released an open letter Monday vehemently opposing Paramount Skydance’s takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, arguing that the corporate tie-up would hurt an industry “already under severe strain.”Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.“This transaction would further consolidate an already concentrated media landscape, reducing competition at a moment when our industries—and the audiences we serve—can least afford it,” the signatories wrote in the letter, published early Monday on a website called Block the Merger.“The result will be fewer opportunities for creators, fewer jobs across the production ecosystem, higher costs, and less choice for audiences in the United States and around the world. Alarmingly, this merger would reduce the number of major U.S. film studios to just four,” the signatories added.Paramount Skydance chief David Ellison inked a deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in late February, triumphing over Netflix for control of a sprawling media empire that includes an iconic movie studio, HBO, and a suite of cable channels, including CNN. Ellison has vowed to “honor the legacy of two iconic companies while accelerating our vision of building a next-generation media and entertainment company.” Paramount Skydance did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the letter.But the open letter illustrates the resistance to the deal...