Benedict Cumberbatch, Alan Cumming, and Benedict Wong have penned an op-ed in The Guardian calling for the UK to block the Paramount–Warner Bros. merger, arguing that the deal threatens to inflict “immense harm on the British public.”
The $111 billion megadeal, if successful, will change not just Hollywood but the global film and TV industry. UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has previously said she was “minded to intervene” in the deal.
Among a host of issues, the actors cite concerns over the livelihoods of British film and TV crews, independent film financing, and the consolidation of news publications.
The Actors’ Argument
“As actors and public figures who have spent our careers in the arts in Britain — working with British crews, on British stages and sets — we have a responsibility to the public who support, enjoy and consume the art we make,” the actors wrote.
“The U.K. is being threatened by a media merger that would harm our workers, our culture and the public — but we can stop it.”
They acknowledged that they are encouraged by Nandy’s statements that she wants to investigate the threat to public interest. This month, 12 US states, led by California, sued in federal court to block the merger, warning that it would “raise prices, shrink the number of films made and degrade the quality of what audiences see.”
The Merger’s Impact
The actors said they have watched “with growing alarm” what consolidation does to the “breadth and depth of the work we produce.” They noted that independent film acquisitions at Sundance fell by half between 2019 and 2025.
“Award-winning documentaries — films that won Oscars and topped festival juries — have struggled to find commercial distribution because they touched subjects the remaining handful of buyers found inconvenient,” they wrote. “Every merger of this kind narrows the funnel through which stories can reach audiences.”
To service Warner Bros.’ estimated $84 billion in debt, executives have promised investors around $6 billion in “synergies.” The actors wrote that this “means redundancies, canceled productions, fewer films commissioned and fewer risks taken.”
News Consolidation Concerns
The actors also expressed concern about the consolidation of news outlets like Channel 5 and CNN International. “The CNN and CBS news archives [are] among the world’s most important broadcast news collections,” they wrote. “If one commercially interested owner controls access to both, they control the raw material of our historical memory.”
They noted that Paramount’s chief executive reportedly told Donald Trump that he would make “sweeping changes” to CNN if the deal went through.
Why It Matters to the UK
The actors pointed to the UK industry’s economic impact: 180,000 jobs supported and £6.8 billion in production spend last year. “It is one of the things the U.K. still does better than almost anyone, and a cultural heritage we must protect.”
“Actors are often told to stay out of legal arguments,” they wrote. “But we have spent our lives on enough U.K. sets, worked alongside enough U.K. crews and watched enough brilliant work from the U.K. struggle to find a buyer to know that this is not someone else’s argument. It is ours.”
The Bottom Line
Benedict Cumberbatch, Alan Cumming, and Benedict Wong have urged the UK to block the $111 billion Paramount-Warner Bros. merger, arguing it would harm British crews, independent film financing, and news consolidation. UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has said she is “minded to intervene.” The actors warned the deal would lead to job losses, canceled productions, and fewer risks taken. Twelve US states have also sued to block the merger.
