Lord of the Rings and more coming to DHS?

[CDavid]

And Disney probably agrees with you. Hence why it could be a huge bargaining chip for Disney to get the Marvel rights back from Universal.

If Disney really wanted to do something with Marvel in the Florida parks (they don't) it would be so much cheaper and far more practical just to strike a deal with Universal than trying to buy/negotiate/weasel the rights back completely. Most Marvel heroes are only off-limits due to "family" connections such as to the Avengers, and you might get Universal to surrender a character they aren't using ("in a more than incidental" manner) anyway.

Frankly I wish there were a grain of truth to LOTR at Disney (again, not that there is), because it makes perfect sense for a theme park environment, in sharp contrast to the costly mistake Avatar may yet become.

 

[Funmeister]

That's pure BS, go to Walmart, there are TONS of Star Wars toys there right now! Star Wars is still Giant! Just saw a Verizon commercial using Star Wars IP today too

You are seriously going to use WalMart as a gauge on how popular something is? YIKES! Besides, I never sasid Star Wars is NOT a giant...I said it was not as strong a brand as it once was.

Do me a favor...take a class. Flooding the market with cheap toys and crap does not necessarily strengthen a brand. In fact the Star Wars brand imho has been a little tarnished since being acquired by Disney.

 

[FigmentJedi]

In fact the Star Wars brand imho has been a little tarnished since being acquired by Disney.

If anything, I feel like Star Wars fits Disney better then Marvel. Long-time parks connection aside, it's got a clear sense of good versus evil, cute and memorable sidekicks, and hammy villains that often fall from a great height. Heck, when George was originally pitching Star Wars to different studios, they kept asking him if he tried pitching it to Disney because it sounded like a Disney project to them.

 

[Bairstow]

. In fact the Star Wars brand imho has been a little tarnished since being acquired by Disney.

The damage to Star Wars was complete long before Disney bought it.
Wal-Mart's been selling Darth Taters since 2005.

 

[Voice of Disney sanity]

You are seriously going to use WalMart as a gauge on how popular something is? YIKES! Besides, I never sasid Star Wars is NOT a giant...I said it was not as strong a brand as it once was.

Do me a favor...take a class. Flooding the market with cheap toys and crap does not necessarily strengthen a brand. In fact the Star Wars brand imho has been a little tarnished since being acquired by Disney.

Lol take a class...
Walmart is the largest retailer for a reason. They certainly know more about what sells than anyone on this board. You need to get out of a classroom and into the real world my friend.

 

[rioriz]

Lol take a class...
Walmart is the largest retailer for a reason. They certainly know more about what sells than anyone on this board. You need to get out of a classroom and into the real world my friend.

In my work(therapist) kids LOVE STAR WARS now for some reason #cartoons

 

[Obi Walt Kenobi]

I always thought Darth Tater was clever. Star wars is very good at not taking itself to seriously. That may make it even more valuable of a brand.

 

[ExtinctJenn]

I always thought Darth Tater was clever. Star wars is very good at not taking itself to seriously. That may make it even more valuable of a brand.

DS7 has Darth Tater and the Trooper Tater, both made at the toy shop in DtD. Personally I think they are hilarious. He's a Potato Head fan, I'm a Star Wars fan, we're both Disney fans... sure why not?

 

[danlb_2000]

That doesn't make any sense.
Assuming both Disney and Universal are in a position to bid for the Tolkien rights, why would Disney want to buy the Tolkien rights if they're only planning on selling/trading them to Universal... who could have bought them if they wanted them.

Not to mention that fact that the rights wouldn't be Disney's to sell/trade. All they could do is make an agreement with Uni to give up the rights so Uni could negotiate with the rights holder for them, which as you said, Uni could have already done.

 

[MOXOMUMD]

I'm not even a lotr fan and I would be downright giddy to walk through helms deep.

I'll walk with you.

 

[DManRightHere]

The damage to Star Wars was complete long before Disney bought it.
Wal-Mart's been selling Darth Taters since 2005.

What damage?

 

[MOXOMUMD]

Am I the only one that thinks a Smaug themed coaster inside the lonely mountain, with a fire-breathing dragon AA though a treasure chamber would be all kinds of awesome?

A boat ride through Middle Earth wouldn't be incredible? Much more than "hobbits running around mountains."

No, you're not the only one.

 

[MOXOMUMD]

Just imagine a ride based on an Ent

It would be a slow ride.

 

[bhg469]

I'll walk with you.

Or hack through some orcs!

 

[Maerj]

Best part of a LOTR land is that they wouldn't even need attractions. Just forests and walking. Maybe they could make a giant treadmill and have woodsy scenes in the background with a monster turning up every few minutes. Instead of Soarin' they could call it Walkin'.

 

[Tony Perkis]

Seriously!? You have to think of Pixar as all of the movies together.

A Monstropolis addition (complete with Door Coaster) would be huge; an Incredibles ride would be huge; even a Toy Story playground/addition like at HKDL would be big. Not to mention Pizza Planet and Al's Toy Barn. Then you also have Cars, Bug's Life, Wall-E, etc. that are very under-utilized at WDW as well. Combine everything and there's no other property that compete.

When you're talking family dollars (which is what Disney wants) there's nothing bigger than Pixar.

Harry Potter.

 

[Tony Perkis]

What damage?

Those three very unfortunate films known as "the prequels".

Also, this:

 

[wdwfan4ver]

The damage to Star Wars was complete long before Disney bought it.
Wal-Mart's been selling Darth Taters since 2005.

I don't buy what you are sellling. If there was any Damage to Star Wars, it was caused by the films after Return of the Jedi. The fact is first 2 movie of the prequel were not exactly what I call Masterpieces compare to what Star Wars was back in the day and the Empire Strikes back.

The first 2 prequels weren't even close to Return of the Jedi in quality.

 

[NowInc]

Harry Potter.

If that were true then there would be more harry potter merchandise out in the world than there is Pixar. Any toy or department store you walk into usually has almost an entire isle dedicated just to the pixar IPs, where maybe theres 2 or 3 potter things left at this point.

Not saying HP isn't a huge asset, it is...but its not bigger

 

[Tony Perkis]

I don't buy what you are sellling. If there was any Damage to Star Wars, it was caused by the films after Return of the Jedi. The fact is first 2 movie of the prequel were not exactly what I call Masterpieces compare to what Star Wars was back in the day and the Empire Strikes back.

The first 2 prequels weren't even close to Return of the Jedi in quality.

The damage to the series isn't so much its monetary impact or merchandising capabilities. It's the perceived quality of the film series, as well as overall kid-friendly nature the series took from Return of the Jedi and on.

Ewoks? Made to appeal to kids.

Jar Jar? Made to appeal to kids.

Darth Vader dancing with stormtroopers at DHS and taking pictures with kids? Blasphemy.

And, for the record, the vast majority of these changes are at the fault of George Lucas. He's gone on record of calling The Empire Strikes Back, undoubtedly the best film in the series, the worst. Why? It was too dark and not nearly kid-friendly enough.