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Don't get your Spandex in a wad: The Disney-Marvel merger is going to be OK
Posted by [URL="http://blog.al.com/nightlife/about.html"]Matt Cuthbert, al.com[/URL] August 31, 2009 9:18 AM
Categories:
Movies
Sony Pictures / APDon't worry, Spidey... Hannah Montana isn't going to cause you any trouble.
This morning, the
Walt Disney Company announced that it will acquire Marvel Enterainment in a $4 billion buyout. Having long been a fan of both companies, I find this news to be quite exciting. But I'm amazed at how short-sighted people are being in their fears of what this will mean for Marvel characters like Spider-Man, the Hulk, and the X-Men.
Disney isn't going to destroy Marvel. They're not going to make the movies more tame. You're not going to see Mickey Mouse / Wolverine crossovers (Marvel would have done that, but Disney won't -- trust me).
Disney and Marvel are capabable of existing as two separate entities owned under the same umbrella. To wit, consider this list of "Disney movies:"
Pulp Fiction
Clerks
Trainspotting
Tombstone
Quiz Show
Grosse Point Blank
The Sixth Sense
The Joy Luck Club
The Piano
The Crow
The Royal Tenenbaums
Good Morning, Vietnam
Dead Poets Society
The Ref
The English Patient
Shakespeare in Love
Chasing Amy
The Others
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
Gangs of New York
Chicago
The Hours
Kill Bill
There Will Be Blood
No Country for Old Men
Those are movies (among many more) from Miramax, Touchstone, and Hollywood Pictures -- all owned by the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group. Yet no one ever thinks of them as "Disney movies," nor should they. Disney owns lots of things that aren't branded with the Disney name.
Disney isn't a kiddie theme park or a producer of only family films. They make all kinds of movies, TV shows, vacation resorts, apparel, etc. They own ESPN and ABC. They own record companies like Hollywood, Mammoth, and Lyric Street. They're a huge corporation, and corporations like to make money. Hannah Montana isn't going to show up in the next Punisher series. Disney wouldn't be doing themselves any favors by tainting characters and storylines that have drawn a loyal fan base for well over 40 years. And they're not that stupid.
So don't get your Spandex in a wad over the merger. It's not going to ruin Marvel. In fact, it's more likely to strengthen Marvel. DC Comics has long been owned by Time Warner, and such backing from a media giant can help pull comics through tough times (remember, on their own, Marvel filed for bankruptcy in the mid-1990s) and solidify branding.
The big questions, in my mind at least, are: What does this mean for Universal theme parks? Universal currently makes heavy use of Marvel characters in their rides and with costumed characters. Once contractual obligations expire, I'd expect those associations to disappear, requiring a massive rebranding for Universal.
Will we someday see the Marvel characters in Disney theme parks? I don't think so. Maybe if Disney ever launches a long-rumored thrill seeker-themed park the Marvel properties could show up there. But I hope not. Personally, I'd rather not see Marvel costumed characters anywhere. They always look stupid, and are nowhere on par with the quality of Disney's costumed characters.
What company will distribute Marvel movies? In the past, films based on Marvel characters have come from Universal, New Line, 20th Century Fox, Columbia, Lions Gate, and most recently, Marvel Studios. Will Sony retain movie rights for Spider-Man? What about Fox and X-Men? Will Disney keep Marvel Studios, merge them into one of their existing production companies, or create a new entity altogether?
Keep watching, true believers and Mouseketeers.
