A group of leading Hollywood insiders have warned against an oncoming economic and institutional crisis in the film industry if Netflix acquires Warner ‌Bros. Discovery, urging the US Congress to take a hand in the matter, as per media reports.

According to Variety, an anonymous collective identifying themselves only as “concerned feature film producers" sent a letter via email to members of Congress from both parties on Thursday.

As per the report, the consortium of industry insiders explained that the letter is left unsigned “not out of cowardice” but fear of retaliation, taking into consideration Netflix’s influence as a buyer and distributor.

However, Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery have not issued any statement yet.

A reliable source told Variety that the group includes a number of prominent filmmakers.

The letter highlights three significant areas of concern, including one that mentions Netflix posing a threat to the “theatrical film marketplace by escalating or eliminating the amount of time Warner Bros. films would play in theatres before hitting a combined Netflix-HBO Max streaming platform”.

Producers have argued that Netflix would “effectively hold a noose around the theatrical marketplace,” and force subsequent licensing fees paid in post-theatrical windows.

Variety also reported on Thursday that Netflix’s current proposal for Warner Bros. would have a theatrical window as thin as two weeks of exclusivity before moving to streaming. However, an insider closely associated with the deal denied the information, revealing that the window periods would be longer.

Comcast and Paramount, both of which have robust theatrical distribution outlets, have pledged their own needs. Paramount has pledged for Warner Bros. to keep operating as a standalone business with a minimum of fourteen theatrical releases every year.

The letter also references co-CEO of Netflix, Ted Sarandos, several times. It mentions that Sarandos has extolled that Netflix’s business model has nothing to do with movie theatres.