Hollywood stars protest giant deal merging Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery

"We write this to express unequivocal opposition to the merger," Joaquin Phoenix, Ben Stiller, Kristen Stewart, Glenn Close and Denis Villeneuve, among others, write in an open letter.

Last winter, Paramount Skydance won the bid for Warner Bros. Discovery. However, the 110 billion SEK deal must first be approved by authorities.

The signatories demand that the deal be stopped and warn that it would lead to fewer jobs, higher costs and reduced supply.

Paramount and Warner Bros. are two of the five major studios in Hollywood today. The merger would "worryingly reduce the number of major American film companies to just four," they write.