After many, many months of negotiations and counter bids, Disney have finally acquired the majority of Fox’s shares and portfolio. Part of the package includes Fox Sports, National Geographic, Sky and the HULU streaming service. I’m more concerned with the film and T.V properties Disney have inherited. So, what do they have and what will likely happen with these properties.
X-Men, Deadpool and Fantastic Four
This is something superhero fans have wanted since 2008, a unified Marvel Cinematic Universe. Whilst this is great news, don’t be surprised to wait a number of years before we see these characters under the MCU banner. How do they shoehorn them in? Where have they been etc? My preference would be to wait until the MCU is rebooted from scratch or maybe a few seasons of a T.V show (set in the MCU) with the ongoing movies dropping reference to a new and emerging ‘mutant’ underground. Long shot I know. Fantastic Four won’t be as hard, their origin can take place at any time. Reed Richards could be financed by Stark, he could have even been one of the M.I.T students that had their projects ‘green lighted’ in the opening scenes of Civil War. As for Deadpool, Disney have said they are open to producing more R rated content, starting with this loveable rogue. The question remains to be seen if Ryan Reynolds will continue or be recast. Same goes for the X franchise (depending on what their plan is there). What is interesting is that a larger pool of cosmic characters have now become available to play with, Galactus to start with and not forgetting Dr Doom. It’s safe to say, this is where a lot of attention will be focused over the coming months.
The Simpsons and Family Guy
Two absolute rocks of the Fox stable. The Simpsons has just recently been renewed way beyond season 30 and is a global favourite. I can’t see Disney shutting this down, I can however, see a sequel to The Simpsons Movie being discussed. The deal wasn’t cheap and this would be a sure fire way of making some cash back in a quick way. With Family Guy I’m not sure, is the market still there for The Griffins? Is there a potential movie in the works here?
Avatar
James Cameron has been working away on sequels to Avatar pretty much since the original came out in 2009. What Disney will be getting is a promise of at least 4 sequels. If even one of these sequels makes anything close to the money of the original ($2.7bn) Disney will be over the moon. The sequels are due for release in 2020, 2021, 2024 and 2025. Only concern with the Avatar franchise is that 11 years will have passed between the original and the first sequel, is there still a demand out there for the inhabitants of Pandora?
Star Wars: A New Hope
Even though Disney have already purchased Lucas Film, they were still missing the most important piece. ST:ANH was retained under perpetuity by Fox who had held the distribution rights since its release in 1977. What does this mean for Star Wars fans? Well we’ll hopefully and finally be treated to a box set of the theatrical releases of the original trilogy. There is well known grievance amongst the fan base about their dislike for the remastered and special edition box sets that are available now. A theatrical release would be a welcome remedy for some who have lost faith in the franchise since Disney’s acquisition.
In addition to the above, Disney have also gained the rights to following movies, T.V shows and franchises.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, X-Files, 24, American Horror Story, 60’s Batman, Planet of the Apes, Alien, Predator, Home Alone, Ice Age, Die Hard, Kingsman, Night at the Museum, M*A*S*H*, The Rocky Horror Picture Show and a whole raft of Mel Brooks films including Young Frankenstein and High Anxiety.
This is obviously a huge turning point in the future of entertainment. Right now it feels exciting and there shouldn’t be any cause for concern but you have to wonder if they’ve taken on more than they can handle. I’ll be following this one closely.
As always if you would like to share your thoughts please leave a comment.
Thanks for Reading
Ben.
Bens Nerd Words 