Mark Ruffalo sharply criticized the approved $111 billion merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, warning that the combination would damage creative work, free expression and employment.
Ruffalo issued his response on September 30, 2026, after U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín approved an antitrust settlement involving the David Ellison-run company and a dozen state attorneys general.
“This merger will stifle creativity, weaken free speech, and cost people their jobs — it is a bad deal for this country and should never have been approved,” Ruffalo wrote.
The actor, who plays the Incredible Hulk in the MCU, has been among the most outspoken opponents of the Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery deal. He described the approval as a major setback for the campaign against the merger but insisted that the wider effort would continue.
“This is an incredibly disappointing outcome for the hundreds of thousands of us who stood up to block it, but it’s also not the end,” he said.
Ruffalo says the campaign goes beyond one merger
In his social media post, Ruffalo framed the opposition as part of a broader grassroots movement rather than a fight focused solely on the $111 billion transaction.
“This grassroots movement isn’t going to fade away and neither is our resolve,” he added. “This was never about just one merger: this was about fighting back against corrupt oligarch billionaires trampling the interests of everyday people to line their own pockets. We’re still in that fight. Join us.”
Ruffalo’s statement came immediately after the judicial signoff that allowed the merger to become a reality. While the two-time Emmy winner and HBO regular acknowledged the disappointment felt by opponents, his remarks made clear that he does not view the approval as the end of their campaign.
He did not outline a specific next step in the post, instead emphasizing that the movement’s members remain committed to continuing their broader fight.