Netflix’s WB Deal That Could Reshape Star Trek & Harry Potter Is Entering Dangerous Territory

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The fight for Warner Bros. Discovery continued as the company’s board asked shareholders to reject a takeover attempt by Paramount and instead consider an offer from Netflix. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav revealed plans to potentially reverse the merger that created the company in 2026, sparking multiple offers to buy it. The possible breakup of Warner Bros. Discovery, and the financial burden Netflix or Paramount would face to acquire it, raises concerns about the future of popular franchises like Harry Potter and Star Trek.

Towards the end of 2024, David Zaslav, the head of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), revealed plans to divide the company into two. Shortly after, David Ellison, CEO of Paramount, offered to buy WBD completely, but Zaslav declined, sticking with the split. However, Ellison’s offer prompted Zaslav to consider offers from other companies, including Comcast (which owns NBCUniversal) and Netflix. Netflix quickly became the leading contender, but Ellison isn’t backing down. As the competition heats up before a WBD shareholder vote, major franchises like Harry Potter, the DC Universe, and Star Trek could be negatively affected.

Warner Bros. Executives Reject Paramount’s Latest Hostile Bid, but Netflix Hasn’t Won Yet

Okay, so the drama surrounding Warner Bros. Discovery is really heating up! Basically, they’re in a period where Netflix is making a huge play – over $80 billion in cash and stock – to buy up a large chunk of the company. But there’s a catch: December is a ‘go-shop’ period, meaning WBD can still entertain other offers. If Netflix doesn’t finalize the deal, they’re on the hook for a massive $5.8 billion breakup fee! And if WBD does accept another offer, Netflix gets $2.8 billion as a consolation prize. To complicate things further, Starz jumped in with a $25 billion bid for some of WBD’s networks, plus a share of the streaming assets. But the biggest twist? Paramount decided to go straight to WBD’s shareholders with a whopping $108 billion offer – a full-on hostile takeover attempt. It’s a total bidding war, and it’s fascinating to watch!

Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) is advising its shareholders to decline Paramount’s acquisition offer, believing Netflix presents a better deal. Netflix is particularly interested in WBD’s popular franchises like DC Studios and Harry Potter. They feel that WBD’s existing movies and shows are more valuable than potential new projects, including the upcoming Lanterns series and the new Harry Potter TV show. Combining with HBO Max would also give Netflix more than twice as many subscribers as its nearest rivals, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+/Hulu. In a statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 7, 2026, the WBD board recommended shareholders reject the Paramount offer, despite it offering a higher price per share than Netflix’s bid.

I was really surprised to hear Warner Bros. Discovery’s chairman, Samuel Di Piazza Jr., on CNBC say he thinks the deal with Paramount is more likely to collapse than the one with Netflix! It seems odd considering all the hurdles Netflix faces – tough reviews from regulators in Europe and even a lawsuit here in the U.S. from HBO Max subscribers. I mean, Netflix is getting a huge financial boost from David Ellison’s father, Larry – the founder of Oracle and incredibly wealthy – but even with that, WBD’s board still prefers Netflix. Ultimately, though, it’s up to us shareholders when we vote later this year, and that’s what really matters.

The Netflix and Paramount Fight Is About Cash, Which Could Be Bad News for Cinemas

I was listening to the interview on Squawk Box and David Faber mentioned a source at Pentwater Capital – they own a big chunk of Warner Bros. Discovery stock, around 50 million shares – and they’re leaning towards backing Paramount. Faber also really pushed Di Piazza about whether Global Networks might fall through. He pointed to how badly CNBC’s parent company, Versant, is doing – its stock price has plummeted since spinning off from NBCUniversal. That could mean investors lose money, or even Starz pulling out of the deal. Despite all that, Di Piazza still seems to think the Warner Bros. Discovery deal is more likely to happen than the Paramount one, even though they had to take out a short-term loan just to cover their part of the agreement.

Netflix plans to keep releasing movies, and they’re shortening the time between a film’s theatrical release and its appearance on the streaming service. Instead of waiting 45 days, movies like Supergirl could be available on Netflix as soon as 10 days after hitting theaters. Netflix, with its strong financial performance, sees more value in having films on its platform rather than in cinemas. While Warner Bros. films would still be eligible for awards, this shift could negatively impact movie theaters financially. Meanwhile, Paramount Global’s plan to release 30 films annually could be affected if they take on Warner Bros. Discovery’s debt, potentially leading to fewer large-scale, high-budget movies from franchises like Star Trek or DC Studios.

During a CNBC interview, Di Piazza gave conflicting reasons for turning down Paramount’s offer. He argued that despite David Ellison’s father providing financial backing, Paramount’s existing debt made the deal risky. However, he also suggested that a fully cash offer from Paramount might be enough to convince Warner Bros. Discovery’s board. He acknowledged that Netflix faced similar financing challenges, even needing to renegotiate its loan recently. Di Piazza also conceded that Global Networks might ultimately be worth less than its debt. This raises the possibility that Paramount’s offer is actually the best one Warner Bros. Discovery is likely to receive.

How Warner Bros. New Ownership Can Upend Harry Potter, DC Studios, and Star Trek Plans

The future of film and television faces bigger issues than just who ends up owning Warner Bros. Even if a company successfully expands its streaming service by acquiring the studio, something valuable will be lost. If Paramount buys Warner Bros., the unique character and history of the studio – something David Zaslav didn’t destroy while cutting costs – will disappear entirely.

As a lifelong movie fan, it really worries me to see studios taking on so much debt just to win bidding wars. It feels incredibly risky, and I’m afraid we could lose some truly special films and characters. These aren’t just entertainment, you know? They’ve inspired so many people – artists, scientists, all sorts of creative thinkers – and it’s heartbreaking to think they might be reduced to nothing more than financial losses on a spreadsheet.

The decision to reboot Harry Potter as an HBO series is already risky, but the studio needs to go all-in if it wants the show to succeed. With the Harry Potter movies doing so well on streaming platforms, the series will need to be incredibly popular to justify a full run of seven – or even more – seasons. Unlike Warner Bros. Discovery, which might cancel a show and then try to sell it to another streaming service, Netflix typically doesn’t do that, meaning HBO needs to deliver a major hit.

Instead of creating new stories, companies will likely either lock up their popular franchises behind subscription services, hoping fans keep rewatching old content. Or, they might produce low-quality, copycat content just to profit from the brand. It’s hard to say which is worse: letting beloved worlds like Harry Potter be forgotten, or overusing them until they become stale and lose their appeal.

Today, Star Trek is undoubtedly Paramount’s most valuable asset. With the franchise celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2026 and new projects in development, there’s a lot of potential. However, if David Ellison incurs over $108 billion in debt – potentially risking his family’s trust – he might follow a controversial tactic similar to one used recently, and cancel finished seasons of shows like Strange New Worlds or Starfleet Academy simply to claim a tax benefit.

The leap from the Star Trek TV show to a series of big-screen movies happened almost by chance. The first movie script was initially quite different until Paramount decided they needed something to rival Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Each subsequent Star Trek film, even the successful ones, was a big gamble, and not one that would be worth taking if the studio had franchises like Batman, Superman, or LEGO already guaranteed to make money. Now, with Paramount and Netflix battling for Warner Bros., it’s the fans who will probably suffer, because these huge media companies are more focused on buying each other up than on creating good movies.

A new Harry Potter TV series is being made, and Star Trek: Starfleet Academy will premiere on Paramount+ on January 15, 2026.

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2026-01-08 18:14