Film Production
Warner Bros Discovery moves to snub Paramount Skydance bid
NEW YORK: According to a Reuters report, Warner Bros. Discovery is preparing to tell its shareholders to politely but firmly turn down a hostile takeover bid from Paramount Skydance, after concluding that the proposal brings more questions than answers.
People familiar with the matter say the company’s board, after a close review, believes the offer lacks both value and certainty when compared with Warner Bros. Discovery’s existing strategic agreement with Netflix. A formal recommendation to reject the tender offer could come as early as Wednesday, when the company is expected to file its response. Talks are continuing, and nothing has yet been officially announced.
At the heart of the board’s unease is how the deal would be paid for. Part of Paramount’s financing hinges on equity commitments tied to a revocable trust linked to the fortune of Oracle founder Larry Ellison, whose son David Ellison runs Paramount Skydance. Because the trust can be changed or withdrawn at any time, Warner Bros. Discovery directors have questioned how solid the funding really is, and what protection the company would have if that backing were to evaporate.
Those concerns sharpened this week after one of Paramount’s backers, Affinity Partners, walked away from the deal. The investment firm, led by Jared Kushner, cited the presence of “two strong competitors” as its reason for exiting.
Regulation is another sore point. Directors worry that a prolonged approval process could leave the company stuck in limbo for a year or more, limiting its ability to run the business freely or manage its balance sheet at a critical time.
Paramount has tried to calm nerves. In a recent regulatory filing, it said it had addressed issues around Warner Bros. Discovery’s ability to refinance debt and cover a proposed $5 billion break fee, which it said would be supported by the Ellison family. The bidder has also tweaked elements of its proposal in response to feedback.
Still, hurdles remain. Around $1 billion in financing from China’s Tencent Holdings was dropped from the deal amid concerns it could invite national security scrutiny from US regulators.
Paramount, home to brands such as MTV and the Paramount+ streaming service, has put forward a proposal valuing Warner Bros. Discovery at more than $108 billion including debt. After Warner Bros. unveiled its Netflix agreement, Paramount bypassed the board and went straight to shareholders with a public tender offer.
That Netflix deal restricts Warner Bros. Discovery from actively shopping itself to other suitors, though it can assess unsolicited approaches. If a clearly superior bid emerges, Netflix has the right to match it.
For now, the board appears unconvinced that Paramount’s offer makes the cut.
Film Production
Arka Mediaworks onboards 88 Pictures as animation studio partner on ‘The Eternal War – Part 1’
Arka Mediaworks announces that 88 Pictures, the acclaimed animation and visual storytelling studio known for its cutting-edge CGI and cinematic artistry, is on board as the animation partner for the highly anticipated Baahubali: The Eternal War, a groundbreaking two-part 3D animated feature film set in the globally beloved Baahubali universe.
Baahubali: The Eternal War represents a bold new chapter in the Baahubali saga envisioned for national and international audiences and crafted with the ambition of delivering one of India’s most ambitious and globally benchmarked animation projects to date.
88 Pictures will execute the animation production, bringing to life the film’s richly detailed worlds, epic battle sequences, and larger-than-life characters with its signature blend of artistic vision, performance-driven animation, and advanced production pipelines. Working closely with the film’s creative leadership and technical partners, the studio aims to set new benchmarks in animation quality, cinematic storytelling, and global scalability.
This animated epic follows the successful re-release of Baahubali: The Epic (the combined theatrical version of the original live-action films) on 31 October 2025 across India and the USA. During the film’s interval, legendary creator and director S.S. Rajamouli (Baahubali 1 & 2, RRR) stunned audiences with a surprise teaser for The Eternal War – Part 1. The video immediately went viral, garnering widespread national and international acclaim across LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube for its ambitious visual style and scale.
Produced by Arka Mediaworks and led by co-founder and CEO Shobu Yarlagadda – producer of the iconic Baahubali duology, The Eternal War brings together fantastic storytelling and cutting-edge animation.. The film is directed and written by acclaimed animation filmmaker Ishan Shukla (Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust, Star Wars: Visions – “The Bandits of Golak”) and screenplay by Scott Mosier (The Grinch). Mihira Visual Labs, the studio co-founded by Yarlagadda anchors the film’s animation, visual development, and execution.
The partnership with 88 Pictures brings significant pedigree to the project; the studio is well-regarded for its work on high-profile international titles including DreamWorks’ series Trollhunters, the HBO Max original series Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, Disney’s animated short An Almost Christmas Story to name a few.
Yarlagadda shared, “We are happy to onboard 88 Pictures as the animation studio partner for our prestigious and most expensive animated film from India. We believe that their expertise and capabilities will allow us to produce a first-of-its-kind, world-class animated feature film from India.”
88 Pictures founder & CEO Milind D. Shinde said, “Baahubali changed the way cinema is perceived and became a defining milestone that turned the tide for Indian live-action filmmaking. Expanding the franchise into an entirely new universe—at a never-seen, never-done scale—through an animated feature created in India for a global audience is set to redefine how the world views Indian animation. We are truly thrilled to be part of this landmark project and to bring it to life under the visionary direction of Ishan Shukla, guided by the experience and leadership of acclaimed producer Shobu Yarlagadda.”
Shukla expressed, “Eternal War requires a level of visual and emotional precision that can only come from teams who truly understand both craft and intent. Working with 88 Pictures, alongside Mihira Visual Labs, has been a deeply collaborative experience. This association brings together technical excellence and creative sensitivity, enabling us to translate an ambitious vision into a compelling cinematic reality.”
Baahubali: The Eternal War – Part 1 is scheduled for release in 2027
