The judge in the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery case has locked in the calendar, and for DC fans it answers the question that matters: how long Warner Bros. stays stuck in neutral.
The answer is at least until March 2027, and likely until June.
The next date is September 24. That is when Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín hears Paramount’s demand that the 12 states and the Writers Guild of America suing to block the deal put up $1.88 billion.
Los Angeles Times reporter Daniel Miller posted the schedule from the court filing. The states and the writers’ union sued separately, but they will gather evidence together on one calendar instead of running two cases side by side.
Why Paramount Wants $1.88 Billion From The States
Start with the fee.
When Paramount signed the deal, it promised Warner Bros. shareholders about $7 million for every day the merger stays open past September 30. That meter starts October 1 and does not stop until the deal closes or dies.
Paramount’s own filing says it adds up to about $1.3 billion by the end of the trial. Add financing costs and the number is $1.88 billion.
Paramount’s argument is that the states and the WGA are the reason the deal is stuck, so if Paramount wins at trial, they should be the ones covering that bill.
The bond is how that would work. It is not a fine, and nobody hands over money now. It is money set aside that Paramount could try to collect from if it wins and proves the delay cost it.
Bonta’s answer: Paramount wrote that fee into its own contract knowing the deal would face review, and it agreed to the trial dates without asking for a bond. He called the demand blackmail.
The judge already waived a bond once, when she first froze the deal, because the states said they were protecting the public.
On September 24 she can grant Paramount’s request, cut the number, or say no again. She hears it one week before the $7 million-a-day meter starts.
It is also the next scheduled hearing since the settlement talks collapsed. Bonta called off the planned meeting and accused Paramount of leaking and misrepresenting a preliminary August 21 discussion.
What Happens Between Now And The Trial
Here is the rest of the schedule.
September 11: Paramount and Warner Bros. file their written response to the lawsuits. A lawsuit is a list of accusations. This is the document where the companies go through that list line by line and say what they admit and what they deny. It is the first time their full defense is on paper in the case.
September 25: Last day for either side to change what the lawsuits say, whether that is the states adding a claim or the companies adding a defense.
October 16: Each side names the witnesses it plans to call.
October 30: The document deadline. By this date, each side has to have handed over the bulk of its internal files: emails, board presentations, financial forecasts, strategy memos. This is the date DC readers should circle. It is when Paramount’s plans for Warner Bros. go to the states and the WGA, and when Warner Bros.’ own internal numbers on DC go with them. Not public yet, but in the lawyers’ hands.
January 8: Evidence gathering ends. Between now and Jan. 8, executives from both companies can be questioned under oath, and those recorded answers can be used at trial.
January 12 through February 23: The economists. Both sides hire experts. The states’ experts file written reports January 12 arguing the merger would cut competition and raise prices. Paramount’s experts respond February 2. The states’ experts get the last word February 12. Then the experts themselves are questioned under oath, and that wraps February 23.
February 12: Both sides list what they will actually show the judge: which documents and which pieces of recorded testimony.
February 17 through February 22: The fight over what stays secret. Companies that are not part of the lawsuit but had to hand over documents can object to their material being shown in open court. Paramount and Warner Bros. can ask the judge to keep specific documents sealed. Those requests are due February 22. This is where we find out how much of Paramount’s Warner Bros. plan becomes public.
February 24: The last hearing before trial.
The Trial And The Ruling
The trial runs March 2 through March 19: twelve court days, mornings only, with no court on March 8 and March 15.
There is no jury. Judge Martínez-Olguín decides.
April 5: After the trial, each side hands her a written version of how it thinks she should rule, covering what the evidence showed and what the law says about it. Then she writes the decision. There is no deadline for that.
Paramount agreed not to close the deal until she rules, or until June 2027, whichever comes first.
What It Means For DC
Every long-term decision at Warner Bros. is waiting on David Ellison, and unless the two sides settle, this calendar says Ellison does not get the keys before spring 2027.
Short-term projects keep moving. Anything that commits the studio for years, like a DCU Batman movie, waits. That is the position Iowa and Montana described to the Supreme Court: Warner Bros. is “frozen” and needs Paramount’s approval for certain decisions.
Bloomberg has said James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DC Studios deals run only into spring 2027. The trial starts March 2. The ruling comes after April 5, possibly as late as June. Those contracts and this calendar run out at the same time.
The states won the long runway to trial. Paramount now has a date to argue it should cost them $1.88 billion.
Key Dates
- September 11: Paramount and Warner Bros. file their written response to the lawsuits
- September 24: Hearing on Paramount’s $1.88 billion demand
- September 25: Last day to change the lawsuits
- October 1: $7 million-a-day fee to Warner Bros. shareholders begins
- October 16: Witness lists
- October 30: Bulk of internal documents handed over
- January 8, 2027: Evidence gathering ends
- January 12: States’ experts file reports
- January 28: Check-in hearing with the judge
- February 2: Paramount’s experts respond
- February 12: States’ experts reply; both sides list what they will show at trial
- February 17: Outside companies object to their documents being shown publicly
- February 22: Requests to seal documents; pretrial briefs
- February 23: Expert questioning ends
- February 24: Final hearing before trial
- March 2–19: Trial (no court March 8 and March 15)
- April 5: Each side files its proposed ruling
- June 2027: Latest date Paramount agreed to wait for a ruling
