Paramount Isn’t Alone: Hollywood Titans Circle Warner Bros in a Blockbuster Bidding War

Add another name to the Who Owns Batman? sweepstakes. Netflix is now sniffing around Warner Bros., which is wild to even type out loud. If any of this actually happens, the future of DC movies and shows could live under a very different roof.

So what actually happened?

Per Puck, Netflix is weighing a potential bid for Warner Bros. (read: Warner Bros. Discovery, but everyone keeps saying Warner Bros.). The chatter heated up over the past week, helped along by a bit of industry-people-being-spotted-in-the-wild: Netflix boss Ted Sarandos and WBD chief David Zaslav were seen together at the Terence Crawford vs. Canelo Alvarez fight over the weekend. Inside baseball? Absolutely. But that is the kind of thing that gets deal rumors moving in this town.

Important caveat: there are zero specifics yet. No numbers, no structure, no what-does-this-mean-for-DC details. Just interest and conversations.

Meanwhile, the Paramount-Skydance twist

Netflix is not the only one lurking. Last week brought reports that Paramount-Skydance has also been eyeing a full-on buy of WB. That effort is said to be backed by the Ellison family: Skydance boss David Ellison and his father Larry Ellison, the Oracle co-founder. Some of the chatter even framed Larry as the wealthiest person on the planet with a roughly $393 billion net worth — file that under claims making the rounds rather than something anyone should carve into stone.

Why this is surprising (and messy)

The idea of Paramount-Skydance buying WBD raised eyebrows because of the size mismatch. WBD’s market cap sits around $33 billion, which is more than double Paramount Global’s. Skydance is private, so the math is squishier, but still — it would be a swing.

What would be on the table

The Paramount-Skydance scenario reportedly targeted the whole shebang: the movie studio, the cable networks, everything. In other words, not just the DC slate — the entire WB machine. If Netflix makes a move, the same assumption applies until told otherwise.

Quick status check

• Puck says Netflix is exploring a bid for WB; rumors picked up after Sarandos and Zaslav were seen at the Crawford-Alvarez fight.
• No terms or deal structure have surfaced for Netflix.
• Paramount-Skydance was reportedly looking to buy the entire company, with backing from David and Larry Ellison.
• The scale is eyebrow-raising: WBD is valued at about $33 billion, over twice Paramount Global’s market cap.
• As of now, nothing is signed with anyone.

Where this leaves DC and everything else

For fans keeping score at home: this is still early-stage maneuvering. Fun to speculate about, but we are a ways off from Batman, Superman, and the rest of DC’s lineup becoming Netflix Originals. If any moves are real, they’ll take time, they’ll be complicated, and they’ll come with plenty of regulatory and corporate Tetris.