Paramount Skydance Preparing to Bid on, Purchase Warner Bros. (What Does it Mean for the DCU?)

Paramount Skydance is preparing to make an offer to purchase Warner Brothers, the media giant that holds the keys to the DC universe, Harry Potter, and much more. We live in an age where all of the media conglomerates seem to be merging. Fox now exists under the Disney umbrella, for instance, and in the world of gaming, Microsoft swallowed up major companies like Activision and ZeniMax. There are a lot of big names under singular roofs these days and it seems like Paramount may be making an effort to bring one of the biggest names in Hollywood under its own roof.

A new report from Wall Street Journal claims that Paramount Skydance is planning to place a majority cash bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery. backed by the Ellison family. The deal would be to acquire the entirety of Warner Bros, meaning all TV, film, and gaming enterprises would fall under Paramount Skydance when all is said and done. This deal comes just weeks after the deal to merge Paramount and Skydance closed. The company is now led by David Ellison, the son of multibillionaire Larry Ellison. With the family backing this deal financially, it means a sizable offer will likely be made.

What Does Paramount’s Bid for Warner Bros. Mean for the DCU?

Of course, many are wondering what this could mean for the newly established DCU. The universe, led by James Gunn and Peter Safran, just kicked off in earnest earlier this summer with Superman. Although Creature Commandos was the beginning, Superman was the mainstream’s introduction to this new universe and sets the stage for what’s to come. Of course, Gunn is developing Man of Tomorrow, a Superman follow-up starring Lex Luthor and Big Blue himself for a summer 2027 release. The studio has big plans, all of which were backed and allowed to happen under WB boss David Zaslav.

If Ellison became Gunn and Safran’s new boss, he may choose to approach things differently. Projects may get scrapped, they may lean away from more niche projects like Clayface, and the entire direction of things could change. Although Gunn is in charge of DC, he does report to the CEO of whoever the parent company is and Ellison could have entirely different directives than Zaslav. Prior to the merger, Paramount was leaning in hard on the Dexter franchise, but when Skydance came in, they quickly cancelled the popular prequel series Dexter: Original Sin. Something similar could happen to DCU projects.

Ellison does seem to be somewhat tapped into nerd culture as he made a fast move to have Paramount acquire the film and television rights for Call of Duty, however. Ellison is a self-proclaimed fan of that franchise, so he may have his finger on the pulse when it comes to the world of superheroes too. With that said, nothing is set in stone. This is just a bid and deals can fall apart at anytime. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens.

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