The big plan is coming together.
Saudi Arabia is putting 6 billion euros, about $7 billion, into three theme parks in Cergy-Pontoise outside Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron announced Monday.
The money comes from Qiddiya, the theme park developer owned by the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund, and Macron says it means 22,000 jobs and the biggest project of its kind in France since Disneyland Paris.
One park will be devoted to manga, and The National reports Macron’s office named Dragon Ball as one of the themes.
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The two other parks are yet to be named. More below.
Une annonce hors normes.
Vous connaissez mon intérêt pour les mangas. Vous savez aussi ma détermination à attirer en France les investissements qui créent des emplois et rendent possibles les projets les plus ambitieux.
Avec l’Arabie saoudite, nous faisons une annonce sans…
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) August 24, 2026
Saudis restoring the SnyderVerse at Paramount-WBD
On November 16, 2025, in our first report on the SnyderVerse return, our insider told us the Saudis were “in the driver’s seat with their trillion-dollar fund” for Warner Bros., that Hollywood was signing massive new deals with the kingdom, and this: “The kingdom wants major entertainment assets, major franchises, and massive theme-park IP.”
Nine months later, the kingdom spent $7 billion on theme parks on the “eve” of the Paramount-Warner Bros Discovery deal closing.
Six Flags Qiddiya City concept art
The Saudi Theme Park Receipts, Dated
November 12, 2025: Comcast CEO Brian Roberts toured Qiddiya, the Saudi “megacity of play” where a Universal-branded park has been expected, while exploring a WBD bid.
November 16, 2025: Our insider said the Saudis want “massive theme-park IP,” including a Universal/Warner-themed mega-park as part of Vision 2030 that could put DC, Harry Potter, Jurassic Park, Universal Monsters, and The Lord of the Rings under one banner. The same report noted Zack Snyder already works with the Saudis through Turki Alalshikh’s General Entertainment Authority on Brawlers.
December 4, 2025: Bloomberg reported Warner Bros. Discovery was in talks to license DC characters to Universal for theme-park rides.
June 12, 2026: Turki’s own production company pinned a DC vs Marvel post, and we noted his regular work with Manga Productions CEO Essam Bukhary and the Public Investment Fund’s $10 billion stake in the Paramount-WBD deal. Our insiders have consistently told us the Saudis are big comic book fans.
August 24, 2026: Qiddiya commits $7 billion to three theme parks outside Paris, one of them manga-themed, on the site of Mirapolis, France’s first theme park, which opened in 1987 with Saudi money and closed in 1991.
French reports say the project grew out of a conversation between Macron and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman about their shared love of manga, Dragon Ball Z in particular.
The Bigger Saudi Play
Nothing in Monday’s Paris announcement names Universal, Warner Bros., or DC, and the Universal/Warner mega-park our insiders described.
At least not yet, which makes sense, and could actually be the reason the other parks weren’t named.
But the strategy is getting harder to miss.
Qiddiya is backed by the Public Investment Fund, the same trillion-dollar fund our insider said was “in the driver’s seat” and the same PIF tied to $10 billion in the Paramount-WBD deal.
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It is already building the world’s first Dragon Ball theme park outside Riyadh. Now it is committing another $7 billion to three parks outside Paris, including one built around manga.
French reports say the project grew from conversations between Macron and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over their shared interest in manga, particularly Dragon Ball Z, with the other two park themes have yet to be announced.
What was signed August 24 is still a memorandum of understanding, and there is no opening date yet. But the scale of the investment is no longer theoretical.
Nine months ago, our insiders told us the Saudis wanted “major entertainment assets, major franchises, and massive theme-park IP.”
Now Qiddiya is putting $7 billion behind exactly that kind of expansion.
That’s what “massive theme-park IP” looks like with a number attached.
Zack Snyder and Turki Al-Sheikh, December 2025
Same Insiders, Same Track Record
The insiders who said “massive theme-park IP” are the same insiders behind our SnyderVerse reporting, and the track record keeps growing.
July 2023: These insiders told us Daredevil: Born Again was a disaster being retooled. Months later, that October, Marvel fired the head writers and directors and rebooted the series, with THR confirming it.
March 27, 2026: At WonderCon, they told us Hal Jordan dies. Lanterns Episode 1 confirmed it on August 16, after HBO Max and WBD spent two days copyright-striking us for reporting it, ironically confirming our own insider reports.
November 16, 2025: Massive theme-park IP. Nine months later, $7 billion.
Here is what those same insiders are saying now
James Gunn is out at DC when the sale closes, with Mike De Luca taking over, with Gunn already said to be answering to him and HBO.
The SnyderVerse returns at a Paramount-owned Warner Bros., backed by the Saudis.
Zack Snyder’s The Dark Knight Returns is ready to go with Jay Oliva and built for IMAX, fully storyboarded and planned as Frank Miller’s graphic novel as is, the way Snyder did Watchmen, with Ben Affleck as Batman and Henry Cavill as Superman.
And per our insiders, the Ellisons, De Luca, and the Saudi investors are in ongoing talks and “know they can’t take another reboot.”
The only thing missing is an owner who can say yes.
Warner Bros. has agreed not to close the Paramount deal until a trial verdict, as late as June 2027, unless a settlement lands before Ellison’s October 1 deadline.
The insiders said the Saudis want massive theme-park IP. The Saudis just spent $7 billion on theme parks. The same insiders say the SnyderVerse comes back when Paramount closes.
Matt McGloin is the editor-in-chief and publisher of Cosmic Book News, the independent entertainment news site he founded in 2008. He covers movies, comics, TV, video games and pop culture and has reported major industry scoops over the years, including revealing the Avengers: Endgame title ahead of its official announcement. Through Cosmic Book News, he helped Marvel Comics promote Guardians of the Galaxy and Nova through exclusive previews, artwork, and interviews, with the site also quoted in solicitations and on comic covers. He also reported on Marvel’s Daredevil: Born Again retooling before it was later confirmed by the trades.