Written By Mikey Sutton • Editor-in-Chief • Owner
An imminent merger between WarnerMedia and Discovery has insiders wondering if it could lead to what the fans have been wanting: To Restore The Snyderverse.
Various trades leaked the deal on the merger over the weekend.
Variety reported that:
The deal under discussion was a joint venture that would merge AT&T’s media assets — primarily the collection of networks and the storied Warner Bros. studio — with Discovery’s collection of domestic and international cable channels.
They added that WarnerMedia and Discovery would be united to form a new company.
The purpose of this collaboration is to add firepower against their largest streaming competitors Disney Plus and Netflix.
The arrangement is valued at over $100 billion.
They plan to announce it by Monday.
As with any merger, firings and musical chairs are inevitable.
The deal isn’t complete yet but the dominoes are about to fall.
CNBC added that:
The likely structure of the deal will combine Discovery with all of WarnerMedia, which will become a new publicly traded company co-owned by AT&T and Discovery shareholders, the people said. AT&T is likely to spin out WarnerMedia in a so-called reverse morris trust and merge it with Discovery, said the people.
In this new organization, WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar is responsible for leading the company’s direct to consumer charge instead.
His boss is going to be Discovery CEO David Zaslav.
Warner Bros. has received numerous criticisms for its handling of theatrical movies streaming on HBO Max as well as the disorganization of DC Films.
In December 2019, Christopher Nolan, one of their most successful filmmakers, burned HBO Max to the ground.
Chair and CEO of WarnerMedia Studios Ann Sarnoff and Warner Bros. film studio chairman Toby Emmerich shocked the world.
They threw their 2021 calendar of 17 theatrical movies onto HBO Max.
They films would launch on HBO Max the same day as whatever screens are open during the pandemic.
Nolan was aghast.
He told The Hollywood Reporter that:
Some of our industry’s biggest filmmakers and most important movie stars went to bed the night before thinking they were working for the greatest movie studio and woke up to find out they were working for the worst streaming service.
Could WarnerMedia And Discovery Merger Restore the Snyderverse?
My sources stress this is the kind of poor decision-making that David Zaslav would not tolerate.
In fact, Variety revealed Zaslav has:
A reputation as a strong-willed CEO who is known for turning over management teams and shifting strategic gears quickly when results are not to his liking.
This is where the hopes to Restore The SnyderVerse could enter the picture.
Insiders explained WarnerMedia could lead to reshuffling.
In other words, DC Films president Walter Hamada, Sarnoff, and Emmerich could possibly be moved.
Neither of them wanted the Snyderverse to continue.
On May 7, I covered a story about Emmerich seeking employment at Netflix.
I wrote that:
According to insiders, Emmerich might not be brought back. He probably knows this or is fearful of it. Emmerich not returning to Warner Bros. could create the falling house of cards that would restore the Snyderverse. If he’s ousted, he will not be alone.
In this new context, it really makes sense now, doesn’t it?
I certainly do not wish for anyone to lose their job.
Nevertheless, my own words then have greater meaning now.
I knew there was something in the air; I just didn’t know what it was until now.
Keep in mind, though: at this point nobody knows what their futures are except for AT&T and Discovery.
However, mergers always lead to personnel changes, and we’re seeing it already with Jason Kilar.
Discovery is going to make their presence known so don’t be shocked if a number of Snyder’s detractors are booted out.
AT&T and Discovery follow the money.
They want a stronger HBO Max.
The Snyder Cut delivered the numbers.
It knocked them out of the park.
The Snyder Cut exploded on HBO Max.
It beat every other movie Samba TV looked at.
Don’t get me wrong; there’s no guarantee the Snyderverse will be restored because of this.
But I said from the beginning HBO Max is it’s future, and to me this will help solidify that.
Related: The Snyder Cut On HBO Max: Real Numbers Revealed! Smash Hit!
