The Writers Guild of America East and West have filed an antitrust lawsuit to block the Paramount-Skydance takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery. The unions argue the deal violates US antitrust laws and would harm writers by suppressing wages and reducing employment opportunities due to decreased competition.

Their complaint asserts that the merged entity would have the "incentive and the ability to lower costs by suppressing writers' wages and reducing output." The suit suggests that reduced competition could lead remaining studios to focus on "lowest-risk projects" rather than original concepts. The WGA points to the 2022 Warner Bros.-Discovery merger and the 2025 Paramount-Skydance merger as precedents for layoffs and cost-cutting following such deals.

This legal challenge follows a separate antitrust case filed by 12 state attorneys general to prevent the merger. Paramount secured approval for the $110 billion deal in June, overcoming initial bids from Netflix.