Earlier this month, the movie world heard a sharp intake of breath when Netflix announced that terms had been agreed to acquire Warner Bros., one of the oldest and most storied movie studios in Hollywood, for the eye-watering sum of $82 billion USD. Naturally, a deal of this size is going to take time—even if everything goes to plan (and barring another, bigger bid from Skydance), it likely won’t go through until at least the end of next year—but that doesn’t mean we can’t do a little speculating, now does it?
The biggest question marks around the deal so far have been over a) what will happen to theatrical distribution models (let’s all say a prayer for them) and b) what the streaming giant plans to do with WB’s catalogue of pre-existing IP—which, along with the studio’s history, know-how and resources, is surely the key reason why Netflix decided to fork over all that money in the first place. Read on to learn more about what might happen to the 10 biggest Warner Bros. franchises and use the guide below to find out where to stream them (for now) on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.
1. Harry Potter
We’ll start this list with a few long-running franchises that are already in various stages of operation. One of the most interesting to look at is Harry Potter, as HBO is currently deep into production on a new TV adaptation of the timeless children's books. The first season is reportedly being filmed at the moment, with writing on the second already underway. Like the movies, each series is set to play out over a single school year and will be shot consecutively, allowing audiences to see the young actors grow up.
With the planned acquisition possibly going through in late ‘26 or early ‘27, all eyes will be on this first eight-episode season’s release, which is currently scheduled for around that time. Given how much marketing, planning and resources have already gone into it, however, it’s hard to imagine Netflix disrupting it in any way. On the other hand, given that the plan is for a decade's worth of shows, if they’re going to act, they will have to do it early.
Whatever the case, there’s no reason for them not to explore some spin-offs in the meantime. Who among us wouldn’t want to see a Cheers-style sitcom set in The Three Broomsticks or an Azkaban prison drama? Heck, call it Sirius is the New Black.
2. Matt Reeves’ Batman Universe
Matt Reeves’ Batman Universe has been looking a little fragile ever since James Gunn took the reins at DC, so news of the acquisition probably did little to calm the nerves. The first movie—in which Robert Pattinson starred in a more noir version of Gotham than the Nolan or Snyder movies—overcame a messy, post-pandemic release to become a relative hit at the box office. Since then, the Colin Farrell-led spin-off series, The Penguin, went down a treat with fans and earned an Emmy nomination for Best Limited series alongside various awards for the cast.
The mood around Reeves’ sequel, until very recently, had been a little less harmonious—with the writer-director continually tinkering with the script until finally completing it this summer. Now, with Scarlett Johansson in talks to appear (she’s rumoured to be playing Harvey Dent’s fiancée, Gilda Gold), the movie is finally set to shoot in early 2026 with a release day pencilled in for summer the following year.
With that all in place, it’s hard to see anything changing, but if Netflix has to decide between Reeves and James Gunn, you have to feel it might be swayed by the latter’s more colourful approach.
3. James Gunn’s DCU
And speaking of Gunn, I imagine it’s safe to assume that the head honcho of DC Studios will be allowed to continue to do his thing. Of all the shows on Max, it’s not difficult to see Peacemaker as a Netflix property, and the idea of releasing an expanded universe of pre-established superhero stories is pretty much exactly what the IP-light Netflix wants to gain from this deal.
The question is whether the streaming giant will be happy to let someone else be in full control of their new crown jewel. Next year, both Supergirl and Clayface will be released, as well as the Lanterns TV show, before the sequel to Gunn’s Superman, currently titled Man of Tomorrow, hits cinemas in summer 2027. There are currently 14 (yes, 14) other projects in various stages of pre-production, but Netflix might want to wait and see how things pan out next year before committing to them.
4. Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones is another property that’s already fully in-production on various fronts, so Netflix is unlikely to be changing too much in the short term. 2026 will be the first year in which fans of Westeros will be treated to two new seasons of GoT adjacent shows: the first being A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which is set to begin on January 18; the second being the third season of House of the Dragon, which is primed to bring more aerial slaughter and incestuous longing onto our screens in June.
Given the richly detailed history of George R.R. Martin’s books, this is a world that Netflix will likely have its eye on for potential expansion. At the time of writing, I wouldn’t be too concerned for Season 2 of Knight (which is already scheduled for ‘27) or even the planned 2028 release of Dragon Season 4. Whether the showrunners are asked to wrap things up at that point, however, as Netflix focuses its attention elsewhere, will be interesting to see.
5. The Lord of the Rings
Now here is an interesting one. For obvious reasons, New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. have been reluctant to go anywhere near the idea of rebooting the central narrative of The Lord of the Rings. Instead, they’ve offered fans a trilogy of Hobbit movies that, regrettably, few people loved, and an animated movie of The Battle of the Rohirrim, which, regrettably, few people saw.
In 2017, Amazon bought the TV rights to adapt stories from the “First Age,” meaning that no matter what happens with Netflix, its Rings of Power TV show will not be affected—which probably sounds like bad news to most people reading this who aren’t me.
So in theory, Netflix will be in a position to reboot Peter Jackson’s original trilogy. Of course, this would be complete sacrilege—but as the Harry Potter series shows, these things happen.
6. The Matrix
If, when you close your eyes and imagine the Warner Bros. logo, it appears in a swarming sea of emerald green binary code, you’re probably already wondering what the Netflix acquisition might mean for The Matrix.
The original trilogy ended in 2003 (Lana’s weirdly experimental Matrix Resurrections only added an interesting coda to the saga in 2021), so a full reboot (an idea that Warner Bros. has played with over the years) doesn’t seem out of the question. Drew Goddard is said to be in production on a brand new Matrix film, which was announced in 2024, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see that put on hold.
If we’re speculating, there is an enormous amount of potentially untapped stuff here. Just imagine a Black Mirror-style anthology show telling similar stories to what we saw in the Animatrix (Charlie Brooker could even write it) or a feature film covering the rise of the machines.
7. Dune
Netflix might have arrived a little too late for the Dune trilogy (the finale of which will be with us around this time next year), but acquiring the rights to Frank Herbert’s novels opens up plenty of opportunities.
One potential option would be Prelude to Dune, a trilogy of prequel novels that were written by Herbert’s son to explore the history of the three main houses: Atreides, Harkonnen and Corrino. These stories take place only a generation or so before the first Dune and could provide fans with some House of Dragon-style backstory for these ancient and powerful families.
8. Mad Max
Though beloved and hugely influential, Mad Max was something of an ‘80s relic until George Miller finally released Mad Max: Fury Road in 2015. Now, even if Miller can’t pull off the upcoming Mad Max: The Wasteland, it’s already one of the most influential action franchises of this century, too.
Of course, it’s hard to imagine the streaming giant going all in on the Australians’ dedication to stuntwork and practical effects, but like some of the other franchises on this list, and as Miller himself even showed with Furiosa, there are all kinds of new territory to be explored in Max’s world. What about a Taylor Sheridan-scripted family saga set in Gas Town or an American Graffiti-styled War Boy coming-of-age story? The possibilities are kind of endless.
9, 10 & 11. Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Don Draper whiteboard meme: Sure, Freddy vs Jason was a terrible idea, but what about Freddy vs. Jason vs. Leatherface vs. Pennywise? No, I didn’t think so either, but using A24 and Netflix’s Welcome to Derry model to give these slasher icons the miniseries treatment might not be such a bad idea.
Even a full reboot of either one wouldn’t be so crazy—there arguably hasn’t been a good instalment in any of these franchises since Wes Craven’s New Nightmare in 1994, so it’s not like they have a tough act to follow from recent years.
