Disney Buys Marvel

[2000man]

Yippie! Now Tony Stark can drink with Donald Duck and they can drunkenly hit on Hannah Montana!

 

[FQRizzo]

Does this mean that the Marvel board gets moved into the Disney-ana section?

 

[The Mike]

Marvel has been building their "Super Hero Squad" for a while now and it was getting a major push in 2010 with cartoons airing on Cartoon Network and a major merchandising push which are just that, tamed down, watered down Superheros aimed at the toddler through elementary school ages. I have a feeling that is a lot of what you'll see in terms of marketing towards kids, with the standard heroes aimed at attracting the teen and adult market. Could you imagine a marvel character movie made by PIXAR? There have been rumors that their Superhero direct to video films were going 3-D and I would imagine with The Incredibles sequel stalling because of a firm ideas of where to take them, I would imagine this would be a perfect marriage.

I'm trying to find out the term of the licensing agreement between Universal and Marvel....Bob Iger commented that they are short term licenses and when they expire they'll decide how to procede next....

It will be very expensive for Universal to have to retheme that whole area both in LA and Orlando even if let's say they bought rights to DC Characters to compete.

Its obvious that in order to combat the onslaught that is coming from The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in 2010 that they are using this as a way to remove the other highest draw to IOA in the long term or get them to pay through the nose, leveling the playing field.

 

[Deckard]

Wow thats the sort of news that gives you a serious wtf moment. I don't know how to feel about this, but I don't see it being good.

Only thing I can think is that if the Rocketeer movie rights are still owned by disney, they could put him in Captain America and then give us a new Rocketeer movie.

 

[Mesa]

need to read the rest of the thread, but I don't think this will be a positive change. I know it's been mentioned that this mainly deals with theme parks, and I hope it stays that way, because I don't need to see the Disney Moral police coming in and editing and censoring the comics any more than Quesada already does.

 

[IrishJedi]

Speaking of PIXAR...

This from CHUD's Devin Faraci (who is a stockholder and is posting live from the stockholder conference call):

JOhn Lasseter has met with Marvel people. It looks like some sort of Marvel/Pixar team up is coming.

Interesting.

 

[NotDolls]

FF and Incredibles?

 

[Deckard]

Whos down with a Marvel Zombies ride at Epcot with an Animatronic Bruce Campbell?!

Adam Hughes is going to have to start drawing Emma Frost and Black Queen in snow suits and berkas.

 

[Booyah!]

Soon I can walk into the Disney store here and find some cool Marvel plush for my son.


I wouldn't worry about anything becoming watered-down, Disney did Beowulf and I was suprised at how brutal and violent it was in parts.

Although Norman Osborn may show up at Mickey's clubhouse dressed as a Donald/Goofy hybrid and start a Disney Dark Reign.....

 

[NotDolls]

Actually, Disney can do anything it wants with the Pixar name/characters. They fully/completely own Pixar, now. One in the same. They just remain separate in name, due to the reputation/recognition of the "Pixar brand."

Ok, true, but they don't. Disney had plans to make Toy Story 3 right before the Disney/Pixar deal ran out, and they were going to make it without Pixar, but when Eisner left and Pixar decided to go ahead with the buy out, Disney canceled the plans to make the sequel, and out of respect, the don't touch anything Pixar. My guess is it be the same mutaul respect sort of thing.

 

[The Mike]

I really don't see how anything good can from from this ultimately. Disney will be much more pervasive and meddling with their Marvel portfolio than Time Warner has been with DC (which still essentially runs independently). I also worry that they'll meddle with future Marvel films (and will they have to be released under the Walt Disney banner now?)

Disney is looking for a way to combat the Harry Potter introduction into Universal parks and boost some life into themselves. Their plans have been stale and continously scaled back since Expedition Everest's intro into Animal Kingdom with more "long term" plans for the parks than short term. Even if a Marvel character never walks a Disney park, the revenue from the Marvel rights will bring in millions if not billions over the years. That being said you have to look big picture. If Iger is already saying theme parks then expect a "Super Hero Land" somewhere like Disney's Hollywood Studios where attendance has been dwindling for a while and it competes hard to catch up to EPCOT or even Magic Kingdom even during its busiest time. Disney will not get involved with Marvel's everyday operations because that is what will bring in revenue but I wouldn't be surprised if we saw Super Hero Squad Pixar movies or even Mickey Mouse comics published under the Marvel banner and more cross branding.

Remember Disney owns Miramax films and that hasn't stopped them putting out their own stuff. They own ESPN and they don't have Mickey Mouse as the mascot there. They own Touchstone Pictures and Hollywood Pictures too and a lot of folks don't even remember those purchases at this point.

But one thing that would get me really excited is if Disney were to make an entire park with a Marvel theme. Now that I could get behind.

Disney themselves have kind of unofficially said that they are at least 10 years from another gate at either site. The majority of their money for theme parks is going to try and fix Disney's California Adventure. It even pulled cash from the Florida Expansion that was supposed to grow Fantasyland over the next three years. If you see anything like that it'll be a land and it will no doubtedly be in DHS. They could spread them out but since that park needs the most work, even more than Animal Kingdom in some respects, they'll focus there.

 

[IrishJedi]

Live updates from Devin as he's on the stockholder call:

https://chud.com/articles/articles/20646/1/HOLY-BREAKING-NEWS-DISNEY-BUYS-MARVEL/Page1.html

 

[ProgMatinee]

Pixar style Marvel films would be a nice change from the live action stuff. Pixar would be a perfect studio to make a "Prime" movie from the Ultraverse comics that Marvel acquired about 15 years ago and put to pasture.

 

[Bannister]

I wouldn't worry about anything becoming watered-down, Disney did Beowulf and I was suprised at how brutal and violent it was in parts.

Pretty sure Disney didn't do Beowulf.https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0442933/companycredits

 

[wofford29]

I'd like to see a Pixar Marvel film.

 

[Shropt]

Marvel/Pixar stuff makes my pants tight.

 

[IrishJedi]

Wait a minute... I just realized that this means that Disney ultimately owns Icon and the KICK ASS comics. Who'd ever pictured that in their portfolio?

 

[The Mike]

The Marvel boards are pissed, a lot of the Disney boards are pissed.....Marvel fanboys worried about interference, Disney fanboys worried about this taking too much focus away from other processes in the parks....should be interesting to see how they package and show off their first endeavors to claim the waters.

 

[Booyah!]

Pretty sure Disney didn't do Beowulf.https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0442933/companycredits

Holy crap, I must be losing it. I could have swore Disney was somehow involved in that......I got distracted by Mike's signature, it destroys brain cells.

 

[UTtoyfan]

Holy crap, I must be losing it. I could have swore Disney was somehow involved in that......I got distracted by Mike's signature, it destroys brain cells.

Just because everything is animated doesn't mean it's Disney.
But yeah, all this talk about Disney and Marvel together is too much for me to handle right now, especially on a Monday morning.