Fox Bends the Knee to the House of Mouse

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

"Marge, this'll be our new home."

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

"Once the elevator doors close, we're gone, 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

"I shouldn't have made that deal with Mickey."

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.

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!”