A federal judge has extended the restraining order keeping Paramount Skydance from closing its proposed takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, pushing the earliest possible closing date to Aug. 17.
US District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín ruled Thursday that she “finds good cause to extend the TRO on multiple grounds, including the need to resolve two preliminary injunction motions, the parties’ disputes regarding the schedule and the proposed format of the preliminary injunction hearing, and Defendants’ stated willingness to abide by the terms of the TRO for some weeks into the future,” according to Deadline.
The extension buys more time for a legal fight that began July 20, when Martínez-Olguín granted an initial 14-day restraining order sought by a dozen state attorneys general.
The states, led by California, sued to stop Paramount’s purchase of Warner, arguing the combination would “extinguish competition” in Hollywood and leave moviegoers and cable subscribers with fewer choices.
“This is a critical first win in our case to ensure this megamerger never sees the light of day,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement.
He added that history shows what happens when a few people have great power over markets central to Americans’ lives: fewer opportunities for more people, worse products and services for all people.
Related: Judge Halts Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger Amid States’ Lawsuit
The Writers Guild of America West and East filed their own antitrust lawsuit the week before, warning that a combined Paramount-Warner Bros. would become the largest buyer of film and TV writing in the country.
“If Paramount succeeds in buying Warner Bros., the merged firm will be the largest buyer of original film and television programming in the United States,” WGA West President Michele Mulroney said. “This would eliminate competition in an already consolidated industry, threatening the livelihoods of entertainment workers and the creative diversity of TV and film.”
WGA East President Tom Fontana was blunter still: “This proposed combined entity would be the largest employer of writers, with tremendous power to suppress our wages, eliminate opportunities for emerging writers, cut jobs across the industry, and produce less programming.”
Paramount has pushed back hard on that framing. A company spokesperson told Variety a combined studio would commit to releasing at least 30 movies a year with full 45-day theatrical windows, keep commissioning from independent producers, and run Warner and Paramount as two distinct film studios under independent creative leadership.
The deal, valued near $111 billion including debt, would fold Warner’s HBO Max library, franchises like HARRY POTTER and networks including CNN under the same roof as Paramount-owned CBS, Paramount+, and franchises like TOP GUN. It has already cleared the Department of Justice under the Trump administration and won conditional approval from European Union regulators after Paramount agreed to divest its stake in a European distribution joint venture — though Europe’s own cinema trade body says the conditions “should have gone further.”
Judge Martínez-Olguín has ordered Paramount and the plaintiffs to “meet and confer” on a path forward, with a joint status report due Friday, July 24. An Aug. 3 hearing on the states’ request for a longer-term preliminary injunction remains on the calendar, and the WGA will be allowed to take part.
Whatever the court decides, the fight underlines a question worth Christian families’ attention: not just who owns the next franchise picture, but how many storytellers get a seat at the table to tell it. Fewer studios competing for scripts and screens tends to mean fewer voices shaping what ends up on screen — a concern that outlasts any one earnings call. A trial on the merits isn’t expected until mid-2027, so the uncertainty hanging over one of Hollywood’s biggest-ever deals isn’t going away soon.
Read Next: What Moviegoers Need to Know About Paramount’s Warner Bros. Deal
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