Most WBD staffers now favor Netflix acquiring Warner Bros. studios and HBO Max rather than being fully subsumed by David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance, sources tell Variety. • WB film staffers who once feared Ted Sarandos would gut theatrical now believe Netflix plans to keep the studio largely intact. • A key turning point came Dec. 17 (two weeks after Netflix announced its deal with WBD) when Sarandos and Greg Peters addressed employees’ concerns at a Warner Bros. town hall on the studio lot. • David Ellison’s cozy relationship with the Trump administration (and CBS News’ rightward shift under Bari Weiss) have given WBD staffers pause.