Screamscape: Possible Buy Out of Universal for Marvel Theme Park Rights?

IWant2GoNow

IWant2GoNow

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I know a lot of people are skeptical on Screamscape around here but I thought this was kind of interesting. Not that we all didn't think about it at some point but if it's true, maybe Disney really feels like they need a major change in the not so distant future. Take it with an iceberg-sized salt lick, but here's the link.

http://www.screamscape.com/html/industry_news.htm#Disney

PS- Speaking of "icebergs" what ever happened to Juan's "tip of the iceberg" talk when it came to WDW's overall plans for the park? Did he ever elaborate? :confused:
 
I

Ignohippo

Well-Known Member
I can't see this happening for a number of reasons:
(1) the money it would take for Uni to give up the rights to a competitor
(2) the cost of redoing the rides at IOA
(3) Uni doesn't have characters that they could easily transfer the existing rides to
(4) The cost of Disney either creating a Marvel Park or adding a major area to one of the existing parks
(5) DISNEY IS ALREADY MAKING MONEY ON THE DEAL! I doubt the potential profit would be bigger than all of the costs above.

If they were going to spend that kind of cash, it would probably cost less just to broaden their deal with Lucas and do the same thing with Star Wars. The rights to the Marvel characters for theme park use will eventually come to Disney anyway (even though it may take 25 years), so why spend the money?
 
jt04

jt04

Well-Known Member
Once again a rumor born out of a complete misunderstanding of the Marvel deal.

Disney owns the characters. All of them. Disney gets money everytime Universal sells anything Marvel. Disney gets money everytime a movie ticket is sold featuring a Marvel character no matter which studio produced the movie. Disney can use any Marvel character in any park they wish. The only exception is Disney can't use characters featured at IoA in the Orlando theme parks.

Disney buying out Universal so they could feature the IoA characters in WDW's theme parks would be like someone buying a 5 star restaurant because you really want the super cool salt and pepper shakers.

And why would Disney do anything when it is just a matter of time (meaning months to a few years Raven) before Uni gives up the Marvel IoA rights voluntarily.

Iger checkmated Universal.

:)
 
IWant2GoNow

IWant2GoNow

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Ignohippo said:
I can't see this happening for a number of reasons:
(1) the money it would take for Uni to give up the rights to a competitor
(2) the cost of redoing the rides at IOA
(3) Uni doesn't have characters that they could easily transfer the existing rides to
(4) The cost of Disney either creating a Marvel Park or adding a major area to one of the existing parks
(5) DISNEY IS ALREADY MAKING MONEY ON THE DEAL! I doubt the potential profit would be bigger than all of the costs above.

If they were going to spend that kind of cash, it would probably cost less just to broaden their deal with Lucas and do the same thing with Star Wars. The rights to the Marvel characters for theme park use will eventually come to Disney anyway (even though it may take 25 years), so why spend the money?
Click to expand...

I agree on all fronts. With the money Disney would use to actually buy the park rights from Uni they could probably add numerous attractions and work on expanding the current status of the parks while they just wait it out to be theirs in the end.

Fix the Yeti before buying Marvel park rights. :lol:
 
IWant2GoNow

IWant2GoNow

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
jt04 said:
Once again a rumor born out of a complete misunderstanding of the Marvel deal.

Disney owns the characters. All of them. Disney gets money everytime Universal sells anything Marvel. Disney gets money everytime a movie ticket is sold featuring a Marvel character no matter which studio produced the movie. Disney can use any Marvel character in any park they wish. The only exception is Disney can't use characters featured at IoA in the Orlando theme parks.

Disney buying out Universal so they could feature the IoA characters in WDW's theme parks would be like someone buying a 5 star restaurant because you really want the super cool salt and pepper shakers.

And why would Disney do anything when it is just a matter of time (meaning months to a few years Raven) before Uni gives up the Marvel IoA rights voluntarily.

Iger checkmated Universal.

:)
Click to expand...

Wasn't there something in Uni's rights that said they had all theme park rights "east of the Mississippi" or something geographical like that? Don't quote me on that but I remember reading that somewhere. So I guess they could still use them at DLR if that were the case.
 
devoy1701

devoy1701

Well-Known Member
jt04 said:
Once again a rumor born out of a complete misunderstanding of the Marvel deal.

Disney owns the characters. All of them. Disney gets money everytime Universal sells anything Marvel. Disney gets money everytime a movie ticket is sold featuring a Marvel character no matter which studio produced the movie. Disney can use any Marvel character in any park they wish. The only exception is Disney can't use characters featured at IoA in the Orlando theme parks.

Disney buying out Universal so they could feature the IoA characters in WDW's theme parks would be like someone buying a 5 star restaurant because you really want the super cool salt and pepper shakers.

And why would Disney do anything when it is just a matter of time (meaning months to a few years Raven) before Uni gives up the Marvel IoA rights voluntarily.

Iger checkmated Universal.

:)
Click to expand...


i agree. Disney owning Marvel means that Superhero Island in IoA is on the list of expansion/overhaul plots for IoA now (figurative now...not literal now).
 
Pioneer Hall

Pioneer Hall

Well-Known Member
jt04 said:
Once again a rumor born out of a complete misunderstanding of the Marvel deal.

Disney owns the characters. All of them. Disney gets money everytime Universal sells anything Marvel. Disney gets money everytime a movie ticket is sold featuring a Marvel character no matter which studio produced the movie. Disney can use any Marvel character in any park they wish. The only exception is Disney can't use characters featured at IoA in the Orlando theme parks.

Disney buying out Universal so they could feature the IoA characters in WDW's theme parks would be like someone buying a 5 star restaurant because you really want the super cool salt and pepper shakers.

And why would Disney do anything when it is just a matter of time (meaning months to a few years Raven) before Uni gives up the Marvel IoA rights voluntarily.

Iger checkmated Universal.

:)
Click to expand...

How nice are these salt and peper shakers?


I also don't see this happening...Disney is doing fine with their part of the deal. They are making plenty on merch, without the characters invading the parks. It doesn't seem like we would see these characters anywhere besides the studios, so it wouldn't pay for them to go through all of this in order to just help in one area. I also agree that universal will look to get rid of these characters on their own so they don't keep funding their competitor up the road with the continued use of characters.
 
wm49rs

wm49rs

A naughty bit o' crumpet
Premium Member
DisneyInsider said:
How nice are these salt and peper shakers?


I also don't see this happening...Disney is doing fine with their part of the deal. They are making plenty on merch, without the characters invading the parks. It doesn't seem like we would see these characters anywhere besides the studios, so it wouldn't pay for them to go through all of this in order to just help in one area. I also agree that universal will look to get rid of these characters on their own so they don't keep funding their competitor up the road with the continued use of characters.
Click to expand...

It wouldn't surprise me in the least to see the Marvel characters moved to the side should Universal get the rights to LoTR or something else.....
 
jt04

jt04

Well-Known Member
IWant2GoNow said:
Wasn't there something in Uni's rights that said they had all theme park rights "east of the Mississippi" or something geographical like that? Don't quote me on that but I remember reading that somewhere. So I guess they could still use them at DLR if that were the case.
Click to expand...

Exactly. There is very little to gain buy buying the theme park rights or Universal as a whole.

And of course the only Disney parks east of the Mississippi are at WDW. In my opinion the rumor is obviously false because it reflects the complete misunderstanding of exactly what rights Universal has. They really are minor and Universal is truly stuck between the proverbial "rack and a hard place".

But it will be fun to see how it works out. My guess is that if the new "Transformers" attraction does well in California then it will be brought to IoA to replace Marvel. The coaster and free fall ride at IoA could be rethemed almost overnight. Spiderman could also be rethemed without too much trouble.

All my opinion.
 
GLaDOS

GLaDOS

Well-Known Member
If anyone thinks MSHI at IoA will be rethemed in the next 15 years...they're mental.:lol:

Universal has always been paying someone for the rights. Why would they care if the company holding Marvel has changed?

Nothing to see here people. Move on.
 
redshoesrock

redshoesrock

Active Member
jt04 said:
My guess is that if the new "Transformers" attraction does well in California then it will be brought to IoA to replace Marvel. The coaster and free fall ride at IoA could be rethemed almost overnight. Spiderman could also be rethemed without too much trouble.

All my opinion.
Click to expand...

I was about to write that Spider-man would take too much $$$ to retheme, but if you took out Spider-man and put in say, Transformers, it could work without as much money as you might think. You could have a story where you climb into an Autobot and then the Decepticons attack forcing you and your vehicle to drive around all over the place trying to get away from them.

I could see it. I'd cry a small tear because the Spider-man ride is just that good (over a decade old and still amazing every time), but I could see it. Not that it's going to happen anytime soon.
 
Pete C

Pete C

Active Member
redshoesrock said:
I was about to write that Spider-man would take too much $$$ to retheme, but if you took out Spider-man and put in say, Transformers, it could work without as much money as you might think. You could have a story where you climb into an Autobot and then the Decepticons attack forcing you and your vehicle to drive around all over the place trying to get away from them.

I could see it. I'd cry a small tear because the Spider-man ride is just that good (over a decade old and still amazing every time), but I could see it. Not that it's going to happen anytime soon.
Click to expand...

There's nothing to develop...it's already happening at Universal Hollywood. The new Transformers ride at Universal is using the exact same ride technology as Spiderman. They could reuse the entire ride system and screens if they wanted to re-theme Spiderman and convert it to Transformers, just change the track configuration and props. It would be expensive I'm sure, but not as expensive as either one's initial cost.
 
Thrill Seeker

Thrill Seeker

Well-Known Member
redshoesrock said:
I was about to write that Spider-man would take too much $$$ to retheme, but if you took out Spider-man and put in say, Transformers, it could work without as much money as you might think. You could have a story where you climb into an Autobot and then the Decepticons attack forcing you and your vehicle to drive around all over the place trying to get away from them.

I could see it. I'd cry a small tear because the Spider-man ride is just that good (over a decade old and still amazing every time), but I could see it. Not that it's going to happen anytime soon.
Click to expand...

They will probably finish up the Hollywood and Singapore versions of Transformers, then figure out how to retrofit the design into the existing Spider-Man ride building for Florida and Japan.

Because Transformers makes all too much sense to replace Spidey, I'm thinking a Sci-Fi themed island is the best option. Hulk could be re-themed Battlestar Galactica, the existing exteriors could be changed simply by using darker, chrome colors and replacing the obvious Marvel references. Dr. Doom and Storm Force I'm sure will also be pretty easy transformations.
 
GrumpyFan

GrumpyFan

Well-Known Member
Perhaps they're just looking to buy/control future development of Marvel characters in a theme park setting. That way they could prevent Universal from building anything new without their oversight. They may also be trying to ensure that the attractions that Universal has already built are maintained to Disney standards so as to prevent tarnishing or de-valuing the brand image. Knowing Disney, they have many lawyers looking at these contracts trying to find a way to leverage them. If there's a way, they will find it, and use it. As it stands now, I can't see Universal building any new Marvel attractions as this would just add to Disney's bottom line. It wouldn't surprise me a bit if they actually choose to dump or slowly move away from the ones they have possession of in the next 10 years. Disney may just be trying to encourage that with some financial incentive.

Regardless, I'm still not wanting a hero-based attraction or park for that matter at WDW. If they want to build elsewhere, sure, go ahead. I live in Texas and would welcome something like that here, but I don't want to see it at WDW.
 
I

Ignohippo

Well-Known Member
Thrill Seeker said:
Hulk could be re-themed Battlestar Galactica, the existing exteriors could be changed simply by using darker, chrome colors and replacing the obvious Marvel references. Dr. Doom and Storm Force I'm sure will also be pretty easy transformations.
Click to expand...


OMG, I never thought of Battlestar Galactica! The way Hulk launches is exactly the way the Vipers launched on the original series. :sohappy:
 
cheezbat

cheezbat

Well-Known Member
Screamscape worded that all wrong...
They aren't talking about buy the Universal PARKS, just the theme park RIGHTS back from Universal...just like they did with Paramount and Iron Man 3 and the Avengers movies and whatnot. Disney drops, say, $150 million to Universal, then Universal changes over Marvel Superhero Island to something else, while at the same time Walt Disney World then can usee any of their Marvel characters in shows, rides, meet and greets, etc. In that case, everybody would be happy.
 
IWant2GoNow

IWant2GoNow

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
cheezbat said:
Screamscape worded that all wrong...
They aren't talking about buy the Universal PARKS, just the theme park RIGHTS back from Universal...just like they did with Paramount and Iron Man 3 and the Avengers movies and whatnot. Disney drops, say, $150 million to Universal, then Universal changes over Marvel Superhero Island to something else, while at the same time Walt Disney World then can usee any of their Marvel characters in shows, rides, meet and greets, etc. In that case, everybody would be happy.
Click to expand...

On their homepage the link just states "Disney May Be Planning to Buy Out Universal". Thought I was going to poo myself until I read the snippet.

Lance made it work for him though, I definitely had to click on the link to find out more. :lol:
 
M

majortom1981

Active Member
hmm

I would think for disney to do that they would have to have a huge plan that would use the characters otherwise why go through the trouble right now.
 
lazyboy97o

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
jt04 said:
Once again a rumor born out of a complete misunderstanding of the Marvel deal.

Disney owns the characters. All of them. Disney gets money everytime Universal sells anything Marvel. Disney gets money everytime a movie ticket is sold featuring a Marvel character no matter which studio produced the movie. Disney can use any Marvel character in any park they wish. The only exception is Disney can't use characters featured at IoA in the Orlando theme parks.

Disney buying out Universal so they could feature the IoA characters in WDW's theme parks would be like someone buying a 5 star restaurant because you really want the super cool salt and pepper shakers.

And why would Disney do anything when it is just a matter of time (meaning months to a few years Raven) before Uni gives up the Marvel IoA rights voluntarily.

Iger checkmated Universal.

:)
Click to expand...
I actually agree completely. However, Disney did buy back the distribution rights from Paramount. I think Blackstone will easily give up Marvel whenever it becomes a good financial decision.
 
GrumpyFan

GrumpyFan

Well-Known Member
majortom1981 said:
I would think for disney to do that they would have to have a huge plan that would use the characters otherwise why go through the trouble right now.
Click to expand...

Not necessarily. It may just be about controlling how and where those images are used. And, of course, the financial benefits of owning them outright.
 

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