EscapeVelocity

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O-O

I thought I heard that on the radio today! I thought it was for only a few of the characters, but nope, they bought Marvel completely. I'm sure Disney will hold the franchise well. It's better than some other corporation coming in and buying them out, IMHO.

bicker

Disney does a wonderful job utilizing assets like this and making new material available to the fans of such assets. Do keep in mind that Marvel Entertainment was in the business of exploiting these assets for the financial gain of its owners, and was very actively capitalizing on those assets. That made them even more valuable to Disney than other creative assets, for which fandom was not so actively fostered. Marvel was, effectively, doing as good of a job doing what Disney does to assets as Disney typically does. That creates synergies that will help make the acquisition smoother. Disney will just pick up with what Marvel was already doing.

The biggest impact will be that Marvel's characters are now attached to a healthy and successful distribution channel (where previously they would always have to negotiate for distribution of whatever they created). I think what we'll see if a very clear introduction of Marvel characters into Disney's distribution channels. Early on, that will include any existing Marvel video properties that aren't already spoken for appearing on Disney's various networks. You'll probably see Marvel characters start appearing at the Disney theme parks, and eventually may see attractions built around some. There is even speculation that with the acquisition of Marvel (and especially after Disney was unable to acquire the rights to Harry Potter), that we might see a fifth gate in Orlando.

What we won't see, I don't think, is a lot of Spiderman or The Incredible Hulk, at least not on the ground in Orlando. NBC Universal's Universal Studios Orlando has perpetual rights to the two existing attractions there. (Note that Universal's rights do not go beyond the east coast of the US, so we might see those characters appearing at Disneyland.) These two attractions at Universal Studios are two of the most popular, so I don't think that Universal will abandon them. However, effectively, once this deal is done, NBC Universal will be paying Disney every time someone buys admission to Universal Studios. That might prompt some changes long-term. I've seen rumors that the Hulk roller coaster could be redressed and redirected to serve as the intro to the new Harry Potter attraction area at Islands of Adventure. By redressing that roller coaster, they lose nothing (since Harry Potter is bigger than Hulk IMHO) and gain a little (they're not sharing their profits with their competitor). I do think that the Spiderman attraction will stay as it is, though, for a while at least.

While Marvel already has its own production studio, being attached to Disney will give it access to all the corporate support (studio facilities, production crews, etc.) that Disney has on hand. There are efficiencies associated with being a film production company that always has a number of features in production (like Disney) as opposed to a production studio that typically just brings one production from start to finish before starting another (like Marvel).

The most important aspect of all this is the fact that it brings one of the richest attraction points for young boys into the fold of family that already supports some of the richest attraction points for young girls, babies, and teens. It serves both companies' interests: Disney fills a hold in its stable, Marvel becomes part of something greater.

cronus

It was my understanding that they bought Marvel Entertainment only. That is the company that simply makes the movies, and has nothing to do with the comic books. My only fear is that the movies might go down in quality, or might try to be made for a five year old.

bicker

Disney is buying "Marvel Entertainment, Inc".

savvyeyty

As far as I can see this merger won't really affect each other's characters at all.

savvyeyty

Come to think of it, you're right about that part. Ha ha.

savvyeyty

That's nice. Thanks for sharing that here.

tongyun

Thanks for the clarification. I can't imagine the movies going down in quality because that would be mean losing money for Disney. The Disney company must see some money making opportunities here otherwise I'm not sure they would have made the purchase.

Zack

I heard they are making a MMO game for Marvel Universe, but does this mean that both worlds will be mixed now?