Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery announce deal
In this photo illustration, the logo of Warner Bros. Discovery is displayed on a computer screen in Ankara, Turkiye, on August 12, 2025. (Photo by Omer Taha Cetin/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Warner Bros Discovery has agreed to a deal with Paramount Skydance, the two companies confirmed Friday in a news release.
According to the release, under the terms of the agreement, Paramount plans to pay “$31.00 per share in cash for all outstanding shares of WBD.”
“The merger unlocks innovative and compelling storytelling opportunities across the combined company’s best-in-class film and television studios, streaming and linear platforms,” the release stated.
According to the release, the board of directors of both companies approved the deal unanimously.
The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, “subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory clearances and approval by WBD shareholders, with a vote expected in the early spring of 2026.”
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Tom Cruise on the set of ‘Top Gun,’ directed by Tony Scott. (Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images)
Great balls of fire! Top Gun 3 is on the way.
During Paramount’s CinemaCon presentation in Las Vegas on Thursday, it was revealed that a third film in the blockbuster franchise is coming, with Tom Cruise and producer Jerry Bruckheimer both returning.
ABC News has reached out to Paramount Pictures and CinemaCon for comment.
Top Gun 3 will serve as a follow-up to the Joseph Kosinski-directed Top Gun: Maverick, which premiered in 2022.
Cruise, who starred in the 2022 film, reprised his role as Capt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell from the 1986 film TopGun. In that film, Maverick is sent to the Top Gun Naval Fighter Weapons School, where he trains to refine his flying skills.
It starred Val Kilmer as Lt. Tom “Iceman” Kazansky, Anthony Edwards as Lt. j.g. Nick “Goose” Bradshaw, Tom Skerritt as Cmdr. Mike “Viper” Metcalf, Meg Ryan as Goose’s wife, Carole, and Kelly McGillis as Charlie Blackwood.
Top Gun: Maverick centered around Maverick confronting his past while training a group of younger Top Gun graduates, including the son of his late best friend, for a dangerous mission.
The 2022 film starred Cruise, Kilmer, Jennifer Connelly as bar owner Penny Benjamin, Miles Teller as Lt. Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw (Goose’s son), Glen Powell as Lt. Jake “Hangman” Seresin, Jon Hamm as Vice Adm. Beau “Cyclone” Simpson, Bashir Salahuddin as Chief Warrant Officer Bernie “Hondo” Coleman, Monica Barbaro as Lt. Natasha “Phoenix” Trace, Jay Ellis as Lt. Reuben “Payback” Fitch and more.
While Cruise was not onstage to help reveal the news about Top Gun 3, he made an appearance on April 14 at the Warner Bros. presentation to share a sneak peek of his upcoming film Digger, directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu.
Luigi, Yoshi, Mario and Toad in ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.’ (Nintendo, Illumination)
Fans of Mario and Luigi will get to see their upcoming sequel film — and Yoshi — a little earlier than expected.
Illumination and Nintendo have moved up the release date of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. The animated film will now release in theaters on April 1, instead of the previous date of April 3.
A brand-new trailer for the film also shows off the first look at one of the most-anticipated characters to join the animated film universe, Yoshi. The green dinosaur appears for the first time in the new trailer, which was released on Sunday.
The trailer finds Mario and Luigi riding motorcycles through a desert land. They arrive inside an ancient structure searching for “the problem,” only to find Yoshi instead.
“Hey, it’s alright,” Mario tells a scared Yoshi, who then appears to befriend the two brothers.
The trailer ends with Toad meeting Yoshi.
“Um, who is this?” Toad asks Mario and Luigi of Yoshi.
Yoshi uses his tongue to steal a candy apple out of Toad’s hand, before introducing himself.
“So, some dinosaur just shows up and he’s now part of the group? Cool,” Toad says.
This new film is inspired by the Super Mario Galaxy video games, which find Mario and friends in the cosmos.
The voice actors from the previous film are returning to voice the roles they originated. Chris Pratt is back as Mario, Charlie Day returns to play Luigi, Anya Taylor-Joy is voicing Princess Peach, Jack Black will voice Bowser, Keegan-Michael Key is back as Toad and Kevin Michael Richardson will voice Kamek.
Additionally, Brie Larson has been tapped to voice Princess Rosalina, while Benny Safdie will portray Bowser Jr.
Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic directed The Super Mario Galaxy Movie from a screenplay by MatthewFogel.
