Parker & Stone Say Paramount Merger Is ‘F—ing Up’ ‘South Park’

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The upcoming season of South Park, initially scheduled for release on Comedy Central on July 9, has been postponed to July 23 instead, resulting in a two-week delay.

It’s quite evident that Series creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone aren’t pleased with the situation. A tweet posted early in the morning of July 2nd on the authorized South Park Twitter/X account states…

In reaction to Comedy Central’s press release about the altered premiere date for South Park, Trey Parker & Matt Stone stated — ‘This merger is a mess and it’s causing problems for South Park. We are currently at the studio working on new episodes, and we hope fans can watch them in some way.’

The referred-to merger is Skydance’s proposed takeover of Paramount Global, who currently own Comedy Central. Simultaneously, negotiations regarding the streaming rights for “South Park” are ongoing behind the scenes between Paramount and the creative team. Initially, the series was exclusively streamed on HBO/Max under a reportedly lucrative deal worth $500 million. This revenue is divided between the show (and its creators, Parker and Stone), as well as going to Paramount.

As reported by Deadline, Paramount aims to have the popular series “South Park” stream exclusively on its own platform, Paramount+. However, according to The Hollywood Reporter, creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone have been in talks with other companies about streaming rights for “South Park,” and they recently threatened legal action against Paramount. They claim that Paramount is trying to pressure companies negotiating for non-exclusive streaming rights for the series into altering their offers unfairly, to benefit Paramount at the expense of Parker and Stone.

According to Parker and Stone, it appears that Paramount is attempting to secure ‘South Park’, which they co-own, for their own streaming platform, while negotiating the best terms possible – potentially causing a perceived conflict of interest. Simultaneously, talks about ‘South Park’ are ongoing, alongside broader negotiations with Paramount as a whole. In the words of Parker and Stone, this situation has become quite chaotic.

Time will reveal the outcome of these events. The fresh season of “South Park” is scheduled to debut on July 23. I can only imagine how this chaos could serve as excellent material for a “South Park” episode, if Paramount grants permission for it to be broadcasted.

The 10 Worst Franchises of the Last Ten Years (2015-2024)

10. Fast & Furious

Over the past decade, the Fast & Furious film series has had a strong start cinematically speaking. Furious 7 (2015) is one of the franchise’s most successful blockbusters and served as a poignant farewell to its late co-lead, Paul Walker. Unfortunately, the series seems to have lost its way since then.

The films that followed Furious 7 have deviated from their original path, trading in their rich history and deep roster of characters for convoluted continuity and an overly bloated supporting cast who seem to switch between villainous and heroic roles without clear motivation. This creative decline is reflected in the series’ box-office performance; Fast X (2023) earned less than half of what Furious 7 made at global theaters only a few years prior, and it was supposed to be the first part of a two-part finale for the franchise. To this day, Universal has yet to begin production on Fast X 2, leading one to wonder if or when the Fast & Furious series will reach its conclusion.

9. Despicable Me

Films: Minions (2015), Despicable Me 3 (2017), Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022), Despicable Me 4 (2024)

While I enjoy the amusing antics of the Minions, and the surreal world of this super-villain franchise is intriguing, I wonder if any of these four movies from the last decade offer truly memorable moments. Are there more to these films than just bathroom humor and strange voices? I recall that Will Ferrell played a character who was both a man and a giant cockroach in the latest movie, which was something, I suppose.

8. X-Men

Originally, the Fox X-Men series concluded in a dramatic fashion, not with a quiet ending but rather with “X-Men: Apocalypse” (2016) and then “Dark Phoenix” (2019), which retold the famous “Dark Phoenix Saga” from Marvel Comics. However, these films were unsuccessful adaptations of one of the most influential X-Men stories ever written. If you’re wondering, “But didn’t ‘Logan’ come out recently too?”, you’d be correct. Yet, when considering spin-offs like “The New Mutants,” which was as disappointing as “Logan” was impressive, it balances out the equation.

The Fox X-Men series ended with two significant films, “X-Men: Apocalypse” and “Dark Phoenix”. These films were attempts to adapt a famous X-Men story but weren’t successful. If we also count spin-offs like “The New Mutants”, the quality of the X-Men films becomes more evenly matched – some good, some bad.

7. The Monsterverse

Title Sequence: Movies: Kong: Skull Island (2017), Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), Godzilla vs. Kong (2021), Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024)

Originally, the “MonsterVerse” movies focused on human protagonists. In 2014’s Godzilla, the main character was largely experienced through the perspective of ordinary individuals. However, this narrative approach has shifted. Human characters now serve merely as spectators, occasionally expressing their motivations and actions. It seems that producers believe this is what the audience desires – to switch off their minds and indulge in the avalanche of kaiju special effects. If you expect anything more from these films besides mindless spectacle, they fall short significantly.

6. 50 Shades

Movies: Fifty Shades of Grey (2015), Fifty Shades Darker (2017), Fifty Shades Freed (2018)
The issue with the Fifty Shades of Grey series wasn’t merely that they served as platforms for on-screen intimacy; the real problem was that they failed to live up to their erotic potential! If you’re going to create a franchise around an intensely passionate relationship, you can’t produce a trilogy as dull and unremarkable as this one. By the third film, it seemed as though there was hardly any plot or conflict; Dakota Johnson’s former boss sought revenge? Jamie Dornan spent time with Kim Basinger, despite her not appearing in the movie at all, resulting in a large confrontation about a meeting we never even witnessed? Fortunately, while the Fifty Shades book series persisted, the film franchise concluded after the third installment.

5. The Lion King

Category: Movies

A Critique on Recent Lion King Films: The Lion King (2019) and Mufasa: The Lion King (2024)

The films “The Lion King” (2019) and “Mufasa: The Lion King” (2024) are on the agenda.

The 2019 version of “The Lion King”? It was stunning, emotional, humorous, and a classic. The remake? It teetered on disaster. Recreating the original film with CGI animals was somewhat impressive — they did look fairly authentic — but it was also mind-numbingly dull. Regardless of what unfolded on screen, the characters maintained blank, photorealistic expressions on their furry little faces. (The adorable baby Simba looked virtually identical whether he was crooning “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King” or fleeing for his life from a devastating stampede.)

The prequel “Mufasa,” however, showed slight improvement over the first film; at least the storyline was slightly different this time. But it also devoted an excessive amount of time addressing questions from “The Lion King” that no one cared about. (Did anyone truly ponder where Rafiki got his cane? Or how they met Zazu the bird? Or why Pride Rock looked the way it did? Why does a rock need a backstory?) Most importantly: Why did Barry Jenkins, one of our most talented filmmakers, decide to work on this? “Mufasa” is merely another gear in the Disney live-action (or “live-action”) remake machine, and not a particularly captivating one at that. And that’s the best film in this series!

4. Texas Chainsaw Massacre

For quite some time, the Texas Chainsaw series has struggled to produce high-quality films. In the past decade, numerous creative teams attempted to revitalize the franchise with different approaches, but none have truly succeeded. The 2017 film Leatherface was a prequel to the initial movie in the series, while the 2022 Texas Chainsaw Massacre served as a direct sequel and followed a group of young adults who aspired to transform an isolated ghost town into a millennial hotspot featuring a comic book store and brunch spot. However, Leatherface was the only resident left alive in this town. One can’t help but wonder if Leatherface has a particular fondness for brunch! The idea of reviving such a place seemed destined to fail, as have many Texas Ch chainsaw films produced over the years.

3. Jurassic World

Movies: Jurassic World (2015), Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018), and the upcoming Jurassic World Dominion (2022)

I’m eagerly anticipating Jurassic World Rebirth, hoping it lives up to the legacy of the original Jurassic Park. It’s exciting that David Koepp, who wrote the first film based on Michael Crichton’s novel, is writing the screenplay. However, Rebirth would likely need to surpass the quality of Jurassic Park significantly to alter the current standing of this trilogy, as they have all been major letdowns, featuring illogical characters and confusing storylines. (The third film is primarily about giant locusts, rather than dinosaurs.) It’s possible that Jurassic Park was a movie that was initially excellent but didn’t lend itself well to sequels.

2. Fantastic Beasts

Originally, the Harry Potter film franchise was incredibly successful, turning anything branded with its name into a sales hit. So it’s surprising that the Fantastic Beasts prequel series, which was planned for five films, failed to captivate audiences after only three. The main characters, such as Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander, were underwhelming, and the villains were frequently recast without any in-story explanation (for example, Johnny Depp was replaced by Mads Mikkelsen as Grindelwald). The plot revolved around the rise of an evil wizard, but the storyline was dull. Furthermore, the title suggested that fantastic beasts would feature prominently, but they were scarcely present in the second and third movies. In essence, if you’re looking for magical creatures, don’t expect to find them in the second and third Fantastic Beasts films.

The Harry Potter film series was a money-making machine, as fans snapped up anything associated with it, from theme park attractions to snack foods. Yet, the Fantastic Beasts prequel series, which was intended for five films, fell flat after just three. The main characters, including Eddie Redmayne’s Newt Scamander, failed to impress, and villains were often recast without a clear in-story explanation (for example, Johnny Depp was replaced by Mads Mikkelsen as Grindelwald). The storyline centered around the emergence of an evil wizard but lacked excitement. Additionally, the title implied that there would be many magical creatures, but they were barely present in the second and third films. In summary, if you’re searching for enchanting creatures, don’t expect to find them in the second and third Fantastic Beasts movies.

1. Sony’s Spider-Man Universe

Movies: Venom (2018), Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021), Morbius (2022), Madame Web (2024), Venom: The Last Dance (2024), Kraven the Hunter (2024)

Although it might seem surprising, the Sony Spider-Man Universe doesn’t include any Spider-Man movies. Isn’t that intriguing? Due to a complicated agreement with Marvel, Spidey can appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe but is prohibited from appearing in Sony’s own Marvel films.

Sony attempted to create standalone films for various Spider-Man characters without showing them in any actual Spider-Man movies or explaining their existence in a world devoid of Spider-Man. The first Venom was successful, largely due to Tom Hardy’s exceptional portrayal of the title character. However, both sequels faced difficulties finding fresh perspectives for a character whose very existence relies on his connection to a character he can never encounter. Unfortunately, this movie universe also produced the bewildering Morbius, the absurd Madame Web, and the preposterous Kraven the Hunter.

Tom Holland’s Spider-Man is an outstanding portrayal of the character, and he has been a valuable asset to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, if the price for his movies was these films, I am genuinely unsure if it was worth it.

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2025-07-02 18:27