Due to desperate deals made in
the past, prior to being acquired by Disney, Marvel didn’t have the movie rights
for every comic book character it owns.
Spider-Man was with Sony, while the X-Men and the Fantastic Four were
with Fox. When the Marvel Cinematic
Universe became a thing, every fan dreamed of the day where Spidey, the X-Men,
and the FF would stand alongside the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy in
the big screen. It seemed to be
far-fetched at that time, but Marvel Studios, having the same desire as the
fans, slowly made moves to realize this.
First, in a delightfully surprising development in 2015, Marvel cut a
deal with Sony to bring Spidey into the MCU.
And now, before 2017 ends, it has been made official:
the X-Men and the Fantastic Four are now also coming to the MCU!
But unlike the deal with Sony, this
is brought about by a significantly more shocking event. After failing to close the deal last month,
Disney – Marvel’s parent company – has finally been able to buy Fox for $52.4
billion! This is a way, way bigger than
the time Disney acquired Star Wars.
Emperor Mickey must be pretty
pleased with his latest conquest. Just
in time for Christmas. A tremendous present
indeed.
The Immediate Implication
"Cap, who are the guys on the left, below Doc Strange?" "Forget about them. Pretend they aren't there." |
Disney’s acquisition of Fox rooted from the desire of bringing the X-Men and the Fantastic Four into
the MCU. So that’s the main thing
everyone is looking forward to. At this
point, I don’t really care how it happens.
As long as it happens as soon as possible. They could have a Secret Wars-style cosmic event that will introduce a
multiverse and bring Fox’s X-Men into the MCU.
Or not. Though I badly want to
see Hugh Jackman in the MCU, rebooting the X-Men and Fantastic Four for the MCU is more efficient and less problematic. But if they ever go the
multi-verse route, I hope the concept is first introduced in a Spider-Verse movie.
Anyway, I’m beyond thrilled that an
MCU-style X-Men film is finally happening. Fox has made some pretty good X-Men films, but they weren’t quite the
comic book-y take on the team that I really want to see. I want superhero
costumes and the iconic theme of the 90’s cartoons. And I think a Marvel Studios treatment will
realize this vision.
As for Fantastic Four, well, Fox never truly made a good Fantastic Four film (the 2005
film and its sequel were somewhat fun though; the 2015 reboot, however, was plain
godawful). So the fact that Marvel’s
first family is finally getting a film adaptation that will give them justice is
worth rejoicing over. Also, I can’t wait
to see Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers/Captain America interacting with the eventual MCU’s
Johnny Storm/Human Torch (a role Evans played in the 2005 film).
Moreover, the MCU will now have some
pretty awesome villains to choose from after their done with Thanos, like the Skrulls (an adaptation of “Secret Invasion” would be epic), Kang the Conqueror, Doctor Doom, and
Galactus.
Disney Now Owns a Lot, Lot More of
Popular IPs
Aside from getting Marvel the
film rights for X-Men and Fantastic Four, Disney now also owns the rights to
some notable pop culture properties in film and TV. Here are some of them: The Simpsons, Buffy the
Vampire Slayer, Avatar, Alien, Predator, Kingsman, Die Hard, Planet of the Apes, Independence
Day, Ice Age, The X-Files, Home Alone, Family Guy, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Night at the Museum, Percy Jackson, The Orville, 24, Legion, The Gifted, and Prison Break. National Geographic is now also owned by
Disney.
According to one article I read,
Disney now owns at least 27% of the film industry.
Bad News for Netflix
Considering the reports earlier this year
that Disney plans to create its own streaming service soon, it means that the amount of content
that Disney is going to pull out of Netflix and make exclusively their own just
got way larger. The Fox deal also gave
Disney a majority share in Hulu, which could be Disney’s stepping stone in its
streaming service aspirations.
Disney’s Acquisition of
Properties Doesn’t Always Lead to Epic Developments
After Disney acquired The Muppets back in the
early 2000’s, nothing really big came out of it. Just two films and an underrated show that
got cancelled just after one season.
Also, even with all the
properties that Disney owned prior to the Fox acquisition, there hasn’t been a
huge mega-crossover event among them. My
preferred set-up would have been a Toy Story 4
where Buzz, Woody, and the rest of the gang get to team up with action figures
of characters from various Disney-owned properties. That would have been a cool concept. But The
LEGO Movie beat them to it.
Moreover, even with all these properties
being under the same umbrella, synergy doesn’t always come through. It’s why, even though they are technically
all in the MCU, ABC’s Agents of
S.H.I.E.L.D., Netflix’s Defenders,
and Avengers haven’t come together
yet.
Maybe something great is going to happen with all these franchises that Disney acquired from the Fox deal. Maybe not.
Next on Mickey’s Wish-List: Warner
Bros. and DC
Avengers: "Join ussss!" JL: "Never!" |
I’m kidding, I’m kidding.
Though there may be some appeal with
it (Avengers vs. Justice League, anyone?
How about a film where Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse team up to save the
world from Xenomorphs and Dementors? Or
the Simpsons taking on the Flintstones in Family Feud?), a Disney monopoly on
pop culture would be a terrifying thought.
Besides, that would be unimaginable.
That said, I never imagined Disney would actually buy Fox.
That said, I never imagined Disney would actually buy Fox.
Who knows. Maybe one day, we’ll all wake up in a world
where House of Mouse banners are virtually everywhere and we’ll be required to perpetually
cheer, “All Hail Emperor Mickey!”
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