Disney to buy Marvel Entertainment

Foolish1

New Member
well, certainly anything with Marvel themes...and while some have discussed licensing agreements that may insulate Universal from this, lets not forget that every contract out there has loopholes and outs...and if one party aggressively wants to end the contract, it can put pressure on the other party.

Either way, Disney gets a piece of Universal's gate (by way of the licensing fees that Universal pays to Marvel) or it finds a way to force Universal to retheme.

Either way, not good for Universal.

Another possibility is that Universal has already paid all of the licensing fees up front to Marvel. In which case, Disney gets nothing.
 

WDWFigment

Well-Known Member
Well, seriously, what are they going to say? "No, Disney, we will not allow you to have a monopoly on characters." I can't think of any angles for crying "monopoly" here...

Any time a corporation as large as Disney acquires another large company, there are antitrust implications. The SEC could deny this fairly easily as a 'threat to the competitive process.' I doubt it will, but it could. I'm not saying I support antitrust law or the suppression of this acquisition, just saying it could happen.

What about the SEC's restrictions on Micro$oft?

That's one example. The SEC has let so much slide starting with Reagan until present (with Clinton being a slight exception).
 

WDWmazprty

Well-Known Member
I wish Disney would have allied with DC instead. :cry:

But that said, I guess we go on. And yes, Disney is the 2 ton gorilla on the block these days.

But hopefully it gets DC to get it's act together again. (Of course, it seems Batman his act together a bit earlier than the rest.)


Really? I definitely think Marvel is way better than DC and have always though Marvel shouldbe with Disney and DC with Universal. We'll have to see how this turns out and how Disney really handles Marvel.
 

DocMcHulk

Well-Known Member
A paragraph from today's Sentinel:


"Marvel also has various deals with the two-park Universal Orlando. The agreements governing two of Universal's hugely popular rides, The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man and The Incredible Hulk roller coaster, appear to be virtually perpetual deals. According to Universal's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Universal Orlando retains American rights east of the Mississippi River for as long as its attractions are in operation."


Doesn't appear to me Universal will have to do any retheming any time soon.
The question really is how long Universal will want to pay money to its competitor down the street.
 

bears163

Active Member
i know it has been mentioned several times but this deal totally screws universal big time. LOL disney will have the rights to the names of the rides in their parks. I am betting a deal will be worked out & in a year or 2 Universal will drop those names. just my opinion.
 

LudwigVonDrake

Well-Known Member
For this to work, Disney must make the correct decisions with their newly purchased characters. As of now I don't have the utmost of faith in that happening. Look at what they did (or didn't do) with The Muppets. Let's see what happens first before it is dubbed a great move.
 

jt04

Well-Known Member
i know it has been mentioned several times but this deal totally screws universal big time. LOL disney will have the rights to the names of the rides in their parks. I am betting a deal will be worked out & in a year or 2 Universal will drop those names. just my opinion.

I agree. Uni is not about to promote a Disney property. This is HUGE!
 

Chezman1399

Active Member
A paragraph from today's Sentinel:


"Marvel also has various deals with the two-park Universal Orlando. The agreements governing two of Universal's hugely popular rides, The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man and The Incredible Hulk roller coaster, appear to be virtually perpetual deals. According to Universal's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Universal Orlando retains American rights east of the Mississippi River for as long as its attractions are in operation."


Doesn't appear to me Universal will have to do any retheming any time soon.

Actually from what that states they'd have to retheme everything except those 2 rides because the entire land they are in is Marvel based when the other agreements are up. Merchandise Stands, The teacups...err Storm Force, Dr. Doom's Fear Fall, new name for the land, restaurants, there's a lot more than just those 2 rides there.
 

gettingsmaller

New Member
Thrill rides.

Yes, because you definitely can't put thrill rides into DHS...

Let's say you're Disney and you're looking at what to do...
"okay, we could spend a BILLION dollars clearing land and building a new park that would be open in 10 years, OR we could spend a few hundred million and put some Marvel-themed thrill rides into DHS (which really needs to draw more people for a longer time, anyway) and start reaping the benefits right away... which shall we choose?"

Okay, so I'll admit that there could be other considerations, but it seems to be the general opinion that Disney is not keen on spending money in WDW in any great amounts. So, the 5th gate idea just doesn't seem plausible to me (more likely, I'd think, to see a new park elsewhere).
 

Ignohippo

Well-Known Member
From a purely economic standpoint (not even talking about the theme parks), this was a no-brainer.

I would imagine any agreements DC has with Six Flags would be in question with Six Flags in bankruptcy. That's a pretty common escape clause built into licensing contracts. I too would rather see Disney acquire the rights to DC – it would be cheaper and the upside could be huge. TW has had it's problems, and with their huge stake in cable, I wouldn't be surprised at all to see Disney go after them. With Disney's big push on the cable tv side, it would only make sense for them to want to become a carrier too.

As for the parks, I would also agree that DHS is the only place I'd like to see these characters. Wow, they would be amazing (pun intended) in an expanded New York section.

But what about the other franchises Disney has rights to that are currently terribly under-developed?

At this point, I would hope Pixar Place is being considered for a MUCH larger expansion into Backlots with Monsters, Inc, an Incredibles themed ride and a real Pizza Planet. Certainly, a lot more could be done with CARS at DHS. And, I'd like to see the HISTK re-themed for Bugs Life and expanded so it meets up with Pixar Place down the alley next to the Buzz and Woody Meet and Greet. Studio Catering and the corresponding gift shop could also easily be changed over to an Al's Toy Barn and Cafe.

And what about Lucasland? Talk about an area that could be really developed.

So, I hope Disney sits back and collects the licensing fees from Uni for awhile and develops the areas in DHS that are already possibilities. If Disney takes advantage of the franchises it already has there and expands the active portion of the park to the fences (eliminating the backlot), adding a Marvel area later could easily make DHS the #2 gate. Giving DHS more coasters and thrill rides along with these franchises would absolutely destroy IOA.
 

Foolish1

New Member
What makes you so sure? Marvel characters are a hot property, popular all over the world. Can Disney really resist putting them in MK somehow?
I certainly have no insider knowledge here, but if I were to bet/guess, in 5 years time you WILL see Marvel characters in the Magic Kingdom. But I suspect the way it happens is just a simple 11:00 parade or something.
 

prberk

Well-Known Member
While thats a nice thing to want, the problem is that the public at large is extremely hesitant to embrace new properties.


Tell that to Pixar, and to the original Disney films that stand the test of time. They were all original and new. Every Pixar film (except Toy Story II) is a whole new story and set of characters. And almost all of the Disney Feature Animation product is also new (not a sequel -- even though some were classic literature, none were previously done in a major film and all brought in new characters).

If we followed the caution of "new properties are hard to sell," there would never be a WALL-E or The Incredibles...

Disney should grow through innovation, and not acquisition (at least only rarely, such as with with Pixar, which had Disney blood anyway through Lassiter and others).

And I agree that Marvel and Disney do not mix well. The Marvel characters and storylines are all very dark. If anything, DC would have been a better fit.

Paul
 

jedimaster1227

Active Member
yep just heard this as well. First thought- what happens with IOA's Marvel Super Hero Island??

For now, the Island will remain. Universal has the right to pursue renewals when the contracts are up, but the contracts are perpetual, so a renewal date is certainly up for question.

Iger just specifically mentioned using the Marvel characters at SOME Disney theme parks (restrictions due to current agreements), but the message is clear that he sees this as a significant asset to the theme park division of Disney.

As it truly is, but remember that this won't be a Marvel invasion either. Like with the acquisition of the Muppets and Pixar before this, the implementation of the newly owned brands will be done slowly and carefully within the parks.

There could be prexisting contractual stuff that would allow Universal to keep their stuff in the parks, ala Disney with some of their MGM stuff.

That is correct.

I'm sure there is, but it will eventually expire. Superheroes in Disney Parks?? Interesting.

We technically have superheroes in the Disney parks already: the Incredibles.

Universal owns the rights to the attraction and the technology used in it... Disney would only own the characters...

I can see in like 5 years Disney taking the rights away from Universal or even forcing them to add something weird like, "Disney/Marvel" to all the names of things or something lol... But if they do take the rights away, it'd be easy for Universal to transform Spider-Man in Transformers and the like...

This is very interesting... IOA as we know it is could possibly be changing yet another island... and with the Dreamworks deal too... Man, they are trying to knock the legs right out from under Universal...

To make Spiderman into Transformers isn't as easy as people seem to think. The new Universal attraction being designed for Singapore and Hollywood happens to be a two-story design and is a little bit larger than Spiderman is now. To shoehorn such an attraction into an existing base would be to cut that new attraction virtually in half, both in story and in length.

As for this deal, coupled with the Spielberg/Dreamworks deals approaching, you have the right idea. Disney is picking up strong allies very quickly, not only to pad itself in these tougher times, but to emerge once more as an even stronger media conglomerate. With every new deal like the one we are about to see, there will be a great return in financial and creative terms.

I may be in the minority here, but I would like to start seeing Disney comic books again. Not the Gladstone rehashing of old Donald Ducks, but new stories. Might be a good reason for them to start.

If the deal goes through, you absolutely will. Disney didn't just partner with Stan Lee for no reason either. Character expansion in terms of comics (and the associated tie-ins) is a definite target on Disney's horizon.

A paragraph from today's Sentinel:

"Marvel also has various deals with the two-park Universal Orlando. The agreements governing two of Universal's hugely popular rides, The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man and The Incredible Hulk roller coaster, appear to be virtually perpetual deals. According to Universal's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Universal Orlando retains American rights east of the Mississippi River for as long as its attractions are in operation."

Like it or not, Disney will not be able to completely stop the external use of Marvel properties outside of their own parks and outlets. Besides Universal's current use of Marvel licenses, there is at least one other theme park currently being built that will use the Marvel name in full. http://ecplaza.net/news/13/13681/marvel_theme_park_planned.html

And trust me when I say (especially to those that expect all of the Korea and Dubai projects to die quietly), the above Marvel project will happen.
 

WDWFREAK53

Well-Known Member
Ok, so let's say that Universal has the rights to Hulk, Spider-Man, Dr. Doom, Storm, etc...

They have a land called "Marvel Superhero Island."

How could they possibly expand on this land? I don't think that Universal will have the rights to FUTURE attractions that include Marvel Licensed characters/themes.

What I'm trying to say is that you probably won't get an "Ironman coaster" or anything ADDED to the land.
 

jt04

Well-Known Member
Yes, because you definitely can't put thrill rides into DHS...

Let's say you're Disney and you're looking at what to do...
"okay, we could spend a BILLION dollars clearing land and building a new park that would be open in 10 years, OR we could spend a few hundred million and put some Marvel-themed thrill rides into DHS (which really needs to draw more people for a longer time, anyway) and start reaping the benefits right away... which shall we choose?"

Okay, so I'll admit that there could be other considerations, but it seems to be the general opinion that Disney is not keen on spending money in WDW in any great amounts. So, the 5th gate idea just doesn't seem plausible to me (more likely, I'd think, to see a new park elsewhere).

There really isn't enough room at DHS to properly capitalize on all the Marvel franchises. That said, I think a 5th gate is still many years away.
 

Pumbas Nakasak

Heading for the great escape.
This has been the funniiest thread on here for years.

Fan boy fantasy at its finset, I wonder if its registering on the richterscale?
 

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