Marvel's Next Step

[hemloc]

More Disneyland, I suppose, but who knows what surprises the future holds :shrug:???

Marvel's Next Step: Disneyland
The studio boss on Marvel's theme park aspirations.
April 19, 2011 April 19, 2011 April 19, 2011
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by Jim Vejvoda

Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios, has big hopes for Marvel now that they're part of the Walt Disney family, including having Marvel's stable of iconic characters become fixtures at Disney theme parks around the world. We've got an exclusive advance look at a new interview Feige did for the upcoming summer issue of Disney twenty-three magazine, the quarterly publication of D23: The Official Disney Fan Club.

"It's the biggest dream of all. We get to tap into this spectacular team that is better than anyone else on the planet at bringing fantasy to life, not only on the big screen but in the real world," said Feige.

He continued, "The notion of walking into a theme park and going into Asgard or the X-Mansion—Disney does this better than anyone. That is why I've gone to Disney parks multiple times every year for my whole life. It's that next step in fully immersive storytelling, whether it's a dark ride, a stunt show, or a thrill ride. The options are endless when it comes to how Imagineers can turn our characters, our adventures, and our films into amazing experiences."

The next issue of Disney twenty-three magazine hits stands May 3.

 

[JEANYLASER]

I can't wait and thanks for the info!

 

[WDWmazprty]

Yes! Should be awesome if done right. I belive Disney can do a much better job with the Marvel Universe than Universal.

 

[Silver Figment]

I think that if Marvel is going to be used in parks then they shold get their own park. That way Disney characters and Marvel don't have to mix too much. I do like Marvel though and i think it would be awesome to have a Marvel Park.

 

[lebeau]

Too bad the head of Marvel Studios doesn't have anything to do with the parks...

 

[DaGoof00]

Out of the existing parks, I think the marvel characters fit best at DHS!

 

[Edeyore]

Out of the existing parks, I think the marvel characters fit best at DHS!

I agree. Does anyone know how the purchase of Marvel by Disney is supposed to affect Universal? (ie. Spiderman the Ride, Hulk coaster, etc, as well as, Marvel characters in the parks.)

 

[maxairmike]

As I understood the contract, it was a lifetime contract with Universal for park attraction exclusivity east of the Mississippi. That contract was not renegotiated or changed in anyway by Disney's purchase of Marvel, and all contracts would be honored as they were written; at least as I understood things.

In other words, we may very well see Marvel attractions in California or abroad, but not in Florida for quite a while, if ever.

EDIT: I should probably clarify that I believe the language covered only the Marvel characters Universal wished to use (Spider Man, Hulk, Fantastic 4, and associated villains). Other characters may well be up for grabs.

 

[Atomicmickey]

I wouldn't mind a Marvel park, but can't see them in any existing parks.
Keep yer SpiderMan away from the castles if you please . . .
But, what makes me nervous is, we have Tinker Bell in Epcot. Shudder.

 

[bgraham34]

It certainly could belong to the studios if it had its own land. While I would not want to see Spiderman on the Streets of NY, he certainly does belong there.

 

[Disneydad75]

Out of the existing parks, I think the marvel characters fit best at DHS!

Definitely the best fit, if expanded properly. Imagine Pixar Place with an added Cars ride and Monsters Inc coaster; Skywalker Ranch (LucasLand) with a new Indiana Jones and Star Wars themed attractions, a Sounds Dangerous rethemed to THX/Star Wars sound effects studio, and a cantina themed eatery. Toss in a Marvel Universe with a Walk thru X-Mansion leading to a Danger Room themed X-ride, maybe an Avengers Dueling Coaster, and a Fantastic Four themed 3-D attraction. You now have a all day park that keeps the Hollywood Studios theming and almost doubles the amount of E-ticket thrills. For added measure you could put in a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse type area to keep the park little kid friendly...

 

[cynic710]

i wonder what universal would do if a marvel park was introduced as a world within DHS. Im sure a retheme of marvel superhero island can easily be accompilished. heck, just move the lost continent over.

i think both universal and disney have opportunities abound for this transition of marvel.

 

[Thrill Seeker]

There is a rumor of an Iron Man themed attraction coming to Disneyland themed around the Stark Expo. If it replaces Innoventions like it is rumored to, I'd say when the time comes, we have a similar round shaped building at Epcot that could be used for it... No I'm not talking about Test Track...

 

[lebeau]

As I understood the contract, it was a lifetime contract with Universal for park attraction exclusivity east of the Mississippi. That contract was not renegotiated or changed in anyway by Disney's purchase of Marvel, and all contracts would be honored as they were written; at least as I understood things.

In other words, we may very well see Marvel attractions in California or abroad, but not in Florida for quite a while, if ever.

You are quite correct. But people keep ignoring inconvenient facts like this in hopes of seeing Marvel come to WDW. At this point, it's unlikely at best.

That could change. With one half of Universal currently up for sale, my understanding is that could nullify some agreements should Universal Studios refuse to buy back that half of the parks. Potentially, such a decision could cost them Marvel? :shrug:

But for the time being, there's no reason to expect to see any Marvel characters at WDW any time in the near (or even kind of distant) future.

If you want to see Disney's take on Marvel, look overseas. This has been confirmed multiple times by Lee and others.

 

[maxairmike]

i wonder what universal would do if a marvel park was introduced as a world within DHS. Im sure a retheme of marvel superhero island can easily be accompilished. heck, just move the lost continent over.

i think both universal and disney have opportunities abound for this transition of marvel.

See what I posted a few above you. Also, a retheme wouldn't exactly be a cakewalk, even for Universal Creative. Hulk, especially, would be a massive undertaking because of how the station, line, and launch structure were created specifically for the Hulk theme and built around the attraction. Spidey wouldn't be as hard to do, it would just be extremely expensive.

 

[jt04]

You are quite correct. But people keep ignoring inconvenient facts like this in hopes of seeing Marvel come to WDW. At this point, it's unlikely at best.

That could change. With one half of Universal currently up for sale, my understanding is that could nullify some agreements should Universal Studios refuse to buy back that half of the parks. Potentially, such a decision could cost them Marvel? :shrug:

But for the time being, there's no reason to expect to see any Marvel characters at WDW any time in the near (or even kind of distant) future.

If you want to see Disney's take on Marvel, look overseas. This has been confirmed multiple times by Lee and others.

Are you sure the 'marvel' rule applies to any new content and characters developed by Disney after buying out Marvel?

 

[lebeau]

Are you sure the 'marvel' rule applies to any new content and characters developed by Disney after buying out Marvel?

1. I believe that was confirmed in the agreement that was found on-line. But I'm not 100% sure, no.

2. What character has Marvel developed recently that would be worth promoting in the parks. Super hero comics have a lousy track record when it comes to launching new characters. In order to have a shot, a new character has to be tied into an existing franchise.

3. The most popular new-ish character in Marvel is Deadpool who has no place whatsoever at Disney. And even Deadpool is over 10 years old. Getting more recent than that is X-23, Wolverine's daughter. I'm guessing if Uni own Wolverine and the X-Men, they get her too.

So even if there are some characters Universal doesn't own the theme park rights to (and that's a great, big IF) those characters aren't worth building a theme park attraction around. And Disney's not about to risk the legal cluster of stepping on any toes. They have enough other properties that wouldn't involve a law suit. They also have plenty of parks where they can use Marvel and not have to go to court.

 

[jt04]

1. I believe that was confirmed in the agreement that was found on-line. But I'm not 100% sure, no.

2. What character has Marvel developed recently that would be worth promoting in the parks. Super hero comics have a lousy track record when it comes to launching new characters. In order to have a shot, a new character has to be tied into an existing franchise.

3. The most popular new-ish character in Marvel is Deadpool who has no place whatsoever at Disney. And even Deadpool is over 10 years old. Getting more recent than that is X-23, Wolverine's daughter. I'm guessing if Uni own Wolverine and the X-Men, they get her too.

So even if there are some characters Universal doesn't own the theme park rights to (and that's a great, big IF) those characters aren't worth building a theme park attraction around. And Disney's not about to risk the legal cluster of stepping on any toes. They have enough other properties that wouldn't involve a law suit. They also have plenty of parks where they can use Marvel and not have to go to court.

I know Iger has talked about developing new Marvel content/characters which is why I asked. Judging by the success Pixar has had in developing characters, and Lasseter's track record (a little "Cars" lingo for you :animwink, I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss the potential of the Marvel division under the Disney banner.

Time will tell.

 

[lebeau]

I know Iger has talked about developing new Marvel content/characters which is why I asked. Judging by the success Pixar has had in developing characters, and Lasseter's track record (a little "Cars" lingo for you :animwink, I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss the potential of the Marvel division under the Disney banner.

Time will tell.

I think Marvel will be successful under the Disney banner. But developing new characters that can be used in Florida won't be a priority. Especially since odds are new characters can't be used in Florida and would certainly result in a law suit under even the best circumstances. (Not to mention the fact that super hero fans are just fine with the characters they have now and reject almost all new characters sight unseen. Thus the huge failure rate of new super heroes.)

Disney bought Marvel for the movies, video games, cartoons and merch. And it will do very well with those things. Theme park applications aren't even icing on the cake. They are a single frosting rose on the icing on the cake. But WDW fans keep putting that cart before the horse (to totally mix metaphors).

Yes, Disney will make use of Marvel in the parks - overseas. Maybe someday in CA. But something BIG has to change before Disney will mess around with Marvel at WDW.

 

[imagineer boy]

Bleh, not too enthusiastic about seeing Marvel anywhere on Disney property...