Disney to buy Marvel Entertainment

[SirGoofy]

"Marvel characters have already proven to be strong in terms of theme park attraction and we believe there are a lot of opportunities around the world, not in every one of our parks because there are some existing agreements that we obviously have to honor, but in a number of places for us to use the Marvel characters to basically help us grow our theme park business and better entertain people," Iger said.

Sounds good to me.

 

[timeman]

I didn't have time to wade thru all the posts, but here is what I think about the deal.

Disney buying Marvel may mean some good animated Marvel movies down the road.

Marvel movies are doing good right now, but their comics aren't. I know a lot of hardcore Marvel readers who have dropped a lot of Marvel titles and the store I go to has had to cut their Marvel orders a lot over the last few years.

There are Marvel comics that are aimed toward young kids namely Marvel Adventures. The titles produced under this title are Spider-Man, Hulk, Avengers, Fantastic Four & Super-Heroes.

I doubt we will see Marvel producing any Disney Comics anytime soon as Boom! Studios has signed a contract with Disney to produce new Disney Comics.

From what I am reading on different news sites any Marvel contracts out there will continue until the contract ends. This means Disney will not benreleasing any of the upcoming Marvel movies that have already been contracted to other studios. This also means until it is time for Universal to renew it's contract with Marvel they will still have exclusive rights to use of the Marvel characters in the theme park.

If and when Universal has to retheme the Marvel Island section the main cost will be the new contract as most of the rides will be easy to retheme and repaint. To give an example Cedar Park moved the Dark Knight coaster from the park it was in to Kings Dominion. They renamed it Dominator and just repainted the cars and track after the move.

 

[Captain Chaos]

I think it is more the monopolisation this could potentially give Disney. I'd rather see Disney going after properties not already part of the Orlando theme park network, and instead bringing new things to give us an incredible WDW as well as an incredible Universal resort, so that Florida as a whole had THE best theme parks in the world. Although I do realise it is all about buisness at the end of the day, but it is in our best interest as customers for their to be competition so both parks have to keep improving. Not that I do think this will bring anywhere near the demise of Universal.[/FONT]

What monopoly??? No one forced Universal into an agreement with Marvel for their characters.... So, I guess Disney wouldn't build coasters cause Universal and SeaWorld have??? Or Aquatica, Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon need to close because Wet N Wild was there years before them????

Disney bought another media company... Big deal!!!! I don't see why this is viewed as greed, monopoly, or anything else that is going to be tossed as negative toward Disney...

Again, Universal fanboys are just crying because of the POTENTIAL loss of Marvel in IOA... No one said that they Marvel HAS to leave.... No one said Marvel is GOING to leave.... Speculation makes fools of people... Wait for the facts to come out!!!

 

[rooneymouse]

Iger mentioned in a CNBC interview today that Disney will use Marvel characters in their parks around the world but he excluded Florida (WDW) due to existing contracts.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/32626133

 

[Wilt Dasney]

Extreme??? They want to deny the employees there don;t mock guests who wear Disney tee-shirts.... So, now what are they going to do when a person wears a Marvel comics character tee-shirt to IOA???? Mock the guest cause they are wearing a now Disney-owned Marvel character, who may have a presence in their park??? The employees' heads are going to be spinning... :ROFLOL:

Unless Disney starts using the characters in their own parks, it's no different than wearing a "Pulp Fiction" T-shirt (assuming those even exist).

Only people who pay attention to corporate maneuvering are going to think anything of it. The rest of the public will hear something about it on the news, and promptly forget about this.

 

[WDWmazprty]

What monopoly??? No one forced Universal into an agreement with Marvel for their characters.... So, I guess Disney wouldn't build coasters cause Universal and SeaWorld have??? Or Aquatica, Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon need to close because Wet N Wild was there years before them????

Disney bought another media company... Big deal!!!! I don't see why this is viewed as greed, monopoly, or anything else that is going to be tossed as negative toward Disney...

Again, Universal fanboys are just crying because of the POTENTIAL loss of Marvel in IOA... No one said that they Marvel HAS to leave.... No one said Marvel is GOING to leave.... Speculation makes fools of people... Wait for the facts to come out!!!

:sohappy:

 

[_Scar]

Even investment oppurtunities turn out bad for WDW. Can we catch a break?

 

[Captain Chaos]

Just more from Bob 'The Sheriff' on CNBC alluding to theme park character rights ... from Beth Kassab's blog in the O-Sentinel.

Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger appeared on CNBC earlier today and addressed the theme park question and -- so far as I've seen -- it's the only comment from him that deals directly with the possibility of Marvel characters at Disney theme parks. He didn't name the Universal agreement, but alluded to it by saying that the characters wouldn't be used in all Disney parks because of existing agreements that must be honored. It would seem he's talking about Orlando here:

"Marvel characters have already proven to be strong in terms of theme park attraction and we believe there are a lot of opportunities around the world, not in every one of our parks because there are some existing agreements that we obviously have to honor, but in a number of places for us to use the Marvel characters to basically help us grow our theme park business and better entertain people," Iger said.

And there it is... From Iger's mouth.... So, Universal fanboys, relax... Marvel IS NOT going anywhere in the near future... Thank you 74 for posting that!!!!

 

[Mr.EPCOT]

I don't know. Darkest Night is kinda about zombies.:lol:

Yea I guess I've just always seen most of DC to be much more grittier than Marvel.

Blackest Night kind of is, and it's certainly one of the more darker things they've done. But I'd say that's more about exploring what happens to characters when they die and sometimes come back to life (and of course providing a major threat out of that), rather than seemingly gimmicky things like Spider-Man eating Mary Jane. I don't think you'll see Superman eating Lois Lane!

Perhaps it's just a case of the grass is always deader on the other side. :lookaroun :lol:

Green Lantern: Blackest Night by Geoff Johns is my current favorite read and yes it's darker than the other DC titles.

I LOVE IT! It's a pure blast, so much fun, very intense! I've never bought every tie-in for an event like this before.

 

[sublimesting]

Everyone needs to step back a bit from the fan's percpective and into the real world. In all likely-hood, Universal will not be hurt at all by this. They may have to re-theme or something but does anyone really think their attendance is going to take a hit from this? I don't...average Joe-vacation isn't going to be like "Honey, we can't go to Universal now, they don't actually own SPiderman." Heck alot of folks think the parks are interchangeable anyways.
Disney probably won't do anything in WDW soon. Although it sounds like they do have worldwide plans for characters. I have a feeling it was bought to put out movies and expand their entertainment empire not their parks.
We are looking at it from a fan's percpective of: There is a big themepark war between Dis and Uni. Uni depends on Marvel for their livlihood and Dis stole that. Now Uni is reeling from the blow.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Disney bought another media company... Big deal!!!!


Again, Universal fanboys are just crying because of the POTENTIAL loss of Marvel in IOA... No one said that they Marvel HAS to leave.... No one said Marvel is GOING to leave.... Speculation makes fools of people... Wait for the facts to come out!!!

Its a big deal in business terms, but implications for me as a tourist who knows.

As for that other nonsense youve posted, I think if you track back through the threads youll see its the usual Universal hating adolescent/menopausal bores who are screaming about Marvels loss and their deep joy at its potential demise. Again odd given they don’t use the product.

And to be fair, who wears Disney shirts now adays , theyre generic tat, they deserve verbal abuse for such fashion faux pas, even if such things did happen in reality.
.

 

[Disneyfan1981]

"Marvel characters have already proven to be strong in terms of theme park attraction and we believe there are a lot of opportunities around the world, not in every one of our parks because there are some existing agreements that we obviously have to honor, but in a number of places for us to use the Marvel characters to basically help us grow our theme park business and better entertain people," Iger said.

So this means you'll see them in parks all over the world but not Florida due to the existing contracts.....at first. I have a feeling that this just is out there to calm the waters by saying basically that the Marvel properties are tied up as far as Florida goes right now....doesn't mean forever. Universal will eventually get tired of paying the Mouse and things will change. Even if the contracts are set, every time they have to pay a licensing fee once the deal goes through it goes to Mickey.

 

[The Conundrum]

So yes Marvel is coming to the theme parks! Just not WDW!

WDW gets screwed again!!:lol:

 

[DocMcHulk]

"Marvel characters have already proven to be strong in terms of theme park attraction and we believe there are a lot of opportunities around the world, not in every one of our parks because there are some existing agreements that we obviously have to honor, but in a number of places for us to use the Marvel characters to basically help us grow our theme park business and better entertain people," Iger said.

Sounds like WDW is out for Marvel characters.

 

[mouse_luv]

I for one, will be elated if it doesn't come to WDW. Marvel is fine by me, but keep it out of WDW parks.

 

[The Conundrum]

Disney has just revealed a teaser image for their newest animated feature:

 

[Ashitaka]

5,000 Marvel characters, huh? That is what Disney is trumpeting and many of the headlines are listing.

Wow, the Mouse now owns Willy Lumpkin! What a prize! Maybe they'll make a TV series around him and his mail route!

But really, how many of those characters are really worth anything? 100 maybe? And that's counting all the X-Men seperately.

Overall, I can see it as a good longterm purchase for Disney though -- much better than their purchase of the Fox Family Channel and the Power Rangers.

And it is funny how different forums are reacting. Disney sites saying these characters won't fit in the parks and the comic book/film sites saying they are going to water-down and Disney-fy their favorite characters. "Hey! You got your super-heros in my Disney!" "You got your Disney in my super-heros!"

As long as I don't see the Mighty Thor wandering around WS's Norway, Cap talking to Ben Franklin in the American Adventure, and Logan listed as a famous Canadian in "O Canada", I think I'll be alright with it.

 

[Disney05]

I do not want to see any Marvel characters walking around Disney parks.:hurl:

 

[SirGoofy]

I do not want to see any Marvel characters walking around Disney parks.:hurl:

Why?

 

[RSoxNo1]

Marvel characters don't fit into the Magic Kingdom?

Captain America attraction to replace the Haunted Mansion in Liberty Square!!!

*runs and hides*

(Psst, the HM is my favorite attraction, this was a joke).

Captain America will be hosting American Adventure... get it right.

Huh? I was at Islands of Adventure yesterday and saw Spiderman, Cyclops, Wolverine and Storm... and let me say, I certainly hope that Disney can find better character actors for Wolverine and Storm than Universal has.

I was at Universal in May of 2008 and got my picture taken with Wolverine...:shrug:

I just found this online when looking for the contract info between Universal and Marvel - it was in the LA Times, so I didn't even think it would only apply to the West Coast. I didn't think the superheros would even appear in that park. Sorry for the confusion.

The deals Marvel has with other studios apparently stay in effect, so Mickey doesn't start making Spidey films etc ... and obviously, from a parks perspective, UNI keeps the rights to the rides it has, so Spidey isn't gonna be rethemed to TeleTubbies (sorry, JT, I am sure they're a fave of yours!) and Hulk is going to become Al Gore's Going Green coaster.

There's a lot of incest in Hollywood anyway ... Disney makes a helluva lot of $$$ off of Star Wars (and more in the futures) but obviously not what George Lucas and 20th Century Fox do. And when say an Indy shirt gets sold at DL or WDW, money goes to Paramount ... and Lucas too.

I recognize that Disney would have to honor existing deals for future movies like Spiderman 4 and Iron Man 2, but has Marvel received any compensation for these releases or will the now be added to Disney's bottom line?

Does it help Disney to own a very valuable stable of characters that it doesn't know what to do with? ... Of course, it could be argued that they don't know what to do with most of the ones they have.

And what does it say about Disney's ability to create and innovate that they've come to the point where they just throw in the towel and buy companies that can do it better and more consistently than they can?

Walt wouldn't be buying Pixar or Marvel (and certainly not FOX Family or Go.com). He'd be innovating.

More as I hear more, time permitting!

The competition now is stronger than ever. While I've already said multiple times in this thread that Disney has failed to capture the teenage/young adult male demographic, this acquisition certainly accomplishes that. I think that demographic is dissuaded/discouraged by the Disney name. If Marvel continues to operate without a real creative tie to Disney, and the existing Marvel fanbase is maintained, then Disney can avoid the negative connotations their name has with the teenage/young adult male demographic, while still having a relatively solid foothold with that group. Think about what movie franchises appeal to the teenage male: Star Wars, Spiderman, Pirates of the Caribbean, Indiana Jones, and soon to be Iron Man - The only franchise I can think of off the top of my head that Disney doesn't have a link to is Transformers.

Disney should have bought DC Comics because they have more variety. They could use DC's iconic western charecters (Jonah Hex, Bat-Lash, Cinnemon) in a new Frontierland e-ticket, they could use the Green Lantern mythos in Tomorrowland, etc.

Forgive my ignorance, but I've never heard of these.

And to add some more info, I was just told that Universal owns the theme park rights to the Marvel characters in perpetuity in FLA ... but NOT in California. Meaning you'd see a third theme park (I'll bet you anything it isn't but ...) in Anaheim with the characters or an attraction at DCA but NOT anything at WDW.

Apparently, UNI has the same deal in Japan meaning no Marvel for OLC.

I'm trying to find out about China because obviously that would be HUGE for Disney with two resorts and all those people.

But what that means is that Disney will have NO RIGHTS TO USE MARVEL CHARCTERS IN ATTRACTIONS IN FLORIDA THEME PARKS under the terms of the agreement. UNI WILL.

From a film standpoint, it is much as I am sure others have said here ... Disney may make royalties, but Sony/Paramount/Fox etc will be making the big bucks, until new films kick in.

How does the revenue stream work for this never ending deal? Did Marvel come to an agreement back during the park's development where they received a lump sum up front, or do they continue to receive licensing fees at a pre-determined rate? I assume that existing franchises like Spiderman and Iron Man probably have ties to the Studios that are making them for the upcoming, and any additional sequels?

Just more from Bob 'The Sheriff' on CNBC alluding to theme park character rights ... from Beth Kassab's blog in the O-Sentinel.

Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger appeared on CNBC earlier today and addressed the theme park question and -- so far as I've seen -- it's the only comment from him that deals directly with the possibility of Marvel characters at Disney theme parks. He didn't name the Universal agreement, but alluded to it by saying that the characters wouldn't be used in all Disney parks because of existing agreements that must be honored. It would seem he's talking about Orlando here:

"Marvel characters have already proven to be strong in terms of theme park attraction and we believe there are a lot of opportunities around the world, not in every one of our parks because there are some existing agreements that we obviously have to honor, but in a number of places for us to use the Marvel characters to basically help us grow our theme park business and better entertain people," Iger said.

Certainly interesting. Perhaps the effect is then going to be similar to the Stan Lee agreement. Disney will see the benefit 10 years down the road, not immediately as new content as developed. They will not be able to completely reep the benefits of existing franchises.