Paramount-WB merger approved; Mark Ruffalo warns it will stifle creativity

Minutes after U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín approved a settlement clearing the way for Paramount to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, Mark Ruffalo jumped on X with a blistering response. The Sept. 30 ruling ends months of antitrust fighting by a coalition of states and sets up a fast close next week.

"This merger will stifle creativity, weaken free speech, and cost people their jobs,"

Ruffalo called the agreement “a bad deal for this country” and said he was “deeply disappointed” for the grassroots campaign that pushed to block it. He added that the organizing won’t stop here.

"This grassroots movement isn't going to fade away and neither is our resolve,"

The actor framed the Paramount–Warner Bros. fight as part of a broader pushback against concentrated corporate power and what he sees as profits put ahead of workers. Paramount and state officials that negotiated the deal, by contrast, say the settlement includes guardrails for competition, employees, and consumers.

Here’s what the court-approved settlement requires from the combined company, according to the agreement:

• Release at least 30 movies annually in U.S. theaters for the next five years.
• Spend an additional $300 million each year on domestic production.
• Negotiate certain cable agreements separately rather than as a bundle.
• Create a journalist-led board overseeing CBS News and CNN.
• Resolve the Writers Guild of America’s antitrust lawsuit, including a $17.5 million payment to the guild’s health fund.

The deal is valued at roughly $110 billion and, with the settlement signed, is slated to close on October 6.

Hulk ’s surprise return

Off screen activism aside, Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner just resurfaced in new footage attached to Avengers: Endgame Encore — and Marvel uses it to steer the Hulk straight toward Doctor Doom ahead of the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday.

In the added scene, Bruce is living underground after the events of “Spider- Man: Brand New Day ” and tinkering with a gamma-suppression serum to keep the monster in check. Doom breaches the supposedly secure facility, tells Banner he’s there to “collect” him, and the transformation begins. The screen cuts away; both characters vanish, leaving strange green markings behind. Marvel’s own account confirms Doom is collecting Bruce, though the reason remains unknown.

The tease lands after Ruffalo’s name was missing from Marvel’s initial Avengers: Doomsday cast announcement. Director Anthony Russo has since said the publicly revealed lineup isn’t complete — a reminder not to read too much into that first list.

The Paramount–Warner Bros. transaction, meanwhile, is scheduled to close October 6.