Netflix is after far more than the Warner Bros. movie studio — it wants to destroy cinema as we know it.

Netflix announced it will buy Warner Bros. in a $72-billion deal that includes ownership of iconic properties like Harry Potter and the DC Universe.

The competition between Netflix and Paramount Skydance to acquire the studio is haunted by the ghosts of mergers past.

The deal stands to remake Hollywood, reshape global streaming, and thrust Netflix into a newly dominant position across film, television, and digital media.

While the vast majority of the focus around Hollywood will be on Netflix owning HBO, DC Studios, Harry Potter and one of the most cherished movie libraries (which one exec called like a “futuristic sci-fi movie where one place delivers all entertainment”), the deal will also essentially recreate Discovery Communications with a few more networks.

"Hey, you know, it's probably irresponsible for us not to actually bid on this and bid on it in a disciplined way," Greg Peters told CNBC.