Mark Ruffalo blasted a federal judge's decision clearing Paramount's $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, calling the outcome "incredibly disappointing" and warning that the Hollywood megadeal will stifle creativity and cost jobs.

Ruffalo, who had been one of the most vocal Hollywood opponents of the merger, reacted on X after U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín issued an order allowing the transaction to close. "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. "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 continued. "This grassroots movement isn't going to fade away and neither is our resolve. 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."

The judge's September 30 order approved a September 21 settlement between Paramount and a California-led coalition of 12 state attorneys general that had sued in July to block the acquisition, arguing it would create a media giant capable of driving up film and television prices and reducing competition. Martínez-Olguín called the settlement a "reasonable factual and legal resolution of the dispute," rejecting objections seeking broader restrictions. The ruling landed on the final day before October 1, when a ticking fee was scheduled to raise the transaction's cost.

The settlement imposes significant conditions. The combined company must release at least 30 films in theaters annually for the first two years and 32 annually for the following three years; Paramount committed to at least an additional $1.5 billion in U.S. film production spending over five years above 2025 levels; a $47.5 million fund will support training and career development for workers displaced by the merger; and an independent oversight board for news operations including CNN and CBS News must be established within 180 days of closing. California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who led the coalition, stressed that "the settlement is not a vote of support for this merger."

With the legal hurdle cleared, the $110 billion deal — the largest in Hollywood history — is expected to close on October 6. The combined company will be named Skydance, led by David Ellison as chairman and CEO with former Mattel chief Ynon Kreiz as co-CEO. It will control Warner Bros., HBO and HBO Max, and CNN alongside Paramount Pictures, Paramount+, CBS and Nickelodeon — with plans to merge the streaming services, target $6 billion in cost savings, and manage roughly $80 billion in combined debt. Ruffalo's camp vows the fight isn't over; the industry is about to find out what consolidation on this scale actually looks like.