The campaign to block the proposed Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) merger has gained another wave of celebrity support, but there’s an irony that’s difficult to ignore. Three of the loudest voices now urging governments to stop further consolidation in Hollywood are themselves major beneficiaries of one of the biggest entertainment mergers in modern history: Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox.
In the United Kingdom, Benedict Cumberbatch, Alan Cumming, and Benedict Wong have signed an op-ed urging Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy to intervene and block the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger, arguing that it would “threaten to inflict immense harm” on Britain’s film and television industry.
Meanwhile, in the United States, Avengers star Mark Ruffalo has been among the most outspoken celebrity critics of the deal, lending his support to efforts opposing the merger on antitrust grounds.
Yet all four actors have seen their own careers benefit enormously from Disney’s consolidation of Hollywood.
Disney’s Fox Deal Created Today’s Marvel Blockbusters
When Disney acquired 21st Century Fox in 2019, it fundamentally reshaped Hollywood.
The transaction reunited the X-Men, Fantastic Four, Deadpool, and dozens of other Marvel characters under one corporate roof. At the time, many critics and regulators warned that the deal would reduce competition, further consolidate media ownership, and give Disney unprecedented market power across theatrical distribution, streaming, and television.
Ultimately, regulators approved the acquisition.
The result has been exactly what Marvel Studios wanted for years: one interconnected cinematic universe featuring characters that had previously been split across competing studios.
That reality is now paying enormous dividends for actors involved in Avengers: Doomsday.
While not announced for Doomsday, Benedict Cumberbatch will return at some point as Doctor Strange. Alan Cumming is back as Nightcrawler in Doomsday after first portraying the character in X2: X-Men United under the old Fox regime. Benedict Wong will undoubtedly also reprise the role of Wong in the near future. And, of course, Mark Ruffalo returns as Bruce Banner/The Hulk in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. He’ll also be the lead in Disney/Pixar’s next original film Gatto.
Tom Holland as Spider-Man and Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk in Spider-Man: Brand New Day – Sony, Marvel Studios
Without Disney’s acquisition of Fox, several of these characters would likely still be controlled by separate studios, making crossover films like Avengers: Doomsday either impossible or dramatically more complicated.
The Disney/Fox merger created the very business environment allowing Marvel to assemble what is expected to be one of the biggest crossover films ever produced.
A Different Tune on Consolidation?
That contrast has raised eyebrows.
The actors argue the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger would reduce competition, eliminate jobs, and diminish creative opportunities.
Those are many of the same arguments critics made against Disney’s Fox acquisition years ago.
Alan Cumming as Nightcrawler in X2 – Disney+
Disney absorbed one of its largest competitors, the Fox name largely disappeared from theatrical releases, 20th Century Fox became 20th Century Studios, Searchlight Pictures remained, but under Disney ownership, and, of course, thousands of employees were laid off following the acquisition as overlapping divisions were consolidated.
Yet few of today’s celebrity critics publicly campaigned against Disney’s merger with Fox, despite similar warnings from industry observers at the time.
Now, many of those same performers are speaking passionately against another major consolidation while continuing to profit from the last one.
Hollywood’s Biggest Stars Continue Benefiting
The timing is particularly notable.
Marvel Studios is preparing Avengers: Doomsday, a film that exists largely because Disney successfully consolidated Marvel’s film rights following the Fox acquisition.
Cumberbatch, Wong, Ruffalo, and Cumming are all expected to receive substantial paydays as Marvel’s ensemble blockbusters continue.
Marvel actor Mark Ruffalo – YouTube, The Graham Norton Show
READ: Hayley Atwell Will Return in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’
That doesn’t automatically invalidate concerns about the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger. Reasonable people can certainly argue that every merger should be evaluated independently.
But critics of the celebrities’ position will likely point to an obvious inconsistency: Hollywood’s biggest stars appear willing to enjoy the financial rewards created by one historic media merger while urging governments to stop another.
The Paramount-Warner Bros. Fight Continues
The proposed Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger continues facing regulatory scrutiny on both sides of the Atlantic.
In the United Kingdom, Benedict Cumberbatch, Alan Cumming, and Benedict Wong argue the merger would lead to redundancies, fewer productions, and greater concentration of media ownership, while calling on Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy to intervene.
David Ellison talks to Bloomberg – YouTube, Bloomberg Podcasts
In the United States, multiple state attorneys general continue pursuing antitrust litigation, delaying completion of the transaction despite regulatory approval in numerous international jurisdictions. Paramount CEO David Ellison has maintained that the company remains confident the merger will ultimately proceed.
Regardless of how regulators rule, the debate has highlighted an uncomfortable reality for Hollywood: many of the industry’s most vocal opponents of media consolidation owe some of their biggest modern career opportunities to one of the largest mergers the entertainment business has ever seen.
How do you feel about Disney actors opposing the Paramount WBD merger? Sound off and let us know!
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