What Happens When Netflix Buys Warner Bros. | The Backdrop

I'm not sure if James Gunn is going to be chill with Netflix overseeing his work.

Yep, like the Alien vs Predator movie tagline, "Whichever wins, we lose."

Great episode. Enshittening will continue until morale improves.

This all started when Paramount made an unsolicited offer, so my hope was that WBD would decide to stay independent--for now--once they decided to reject it--but that ship has apparently sailed. I still think, of the two, Netflix is the lesser of the two evils: my hope is that, by buying more solidly into the movie-making ecosystem, Netflix /has/ to play in the same sandbox as everyone else, especially if streaming is hitting a peak as some signs indicate. But like you said, we have to judge Netflix by their actions, not their words, and the co-CEOs seem almost fanatical in their efforts to sabotage the movie-going experience and keep people glued to their screens instead. However, with Paramount we'd face wholesale layoffs, Barbara Weiss getting her mitts on CNN, even more Middle Eastern money in our entertainment industries...it just seems altogether a worse experience than the (strong) possibility Netflix will try to degrade the theater experience even more. But I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Throughout the entire video and all the scarily accurate points being made, a single thought won't leave my mind and it worries me more than anything: is Netflix able to afford this? An earlier video pointed out that Netflix inflated its worth for years and years in order to attract investors so the amount of money they have access to is most likely suspect. Microsoft purchased Actiblizzion and has shown signs of outright not being able to afford keeping the company afloat by themselves, laying off an absurd number of people and shuttering other companies just to sustain the giant and even relying on AI to replace workers in not just their other game studios but also their tentpole products like Windows 11. Call of Duty Black Ops 7 is filled with AI assets, was almost certainly written by AI, and they've shown no sign of wanting to lean back from it. Embracer Group acquired company after company but after their major financial backer failed to provide the funds they needed to stay afloat, they downsized catastrophically and the entire company remains in limbo with not a single release under their belt despite all the studios and properties they've bought out. They've only just recently announced a new Tomb Raider all these years later and I don't think anyone cares anymore. What happens if Netflix acquires Warner Bros but is unable to sustain themselves after such a hefty acquisition? Will everything go under and Warner Bros shut down? Are we about to lose one of the pillars of Western media because an uppity tech company thought they could do it themselves?

I am genuinely blown away by Darren's editing chops. I feel like I'm getting a little glimpse into how his mind works. Great video.