Marvel's Next Step

DaGoof00

DaGoof00

Well-Known Member
maxairmike said:
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.
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I believe this is correct. Last I hear, according to Disney, they were looking to developed the many "non-major" characters in the Marvel franchise; however, any hopes of the Hulk or Spiderman in WDW will probably never turn into reality, not as long Universal maintains their contract.
 
SeaCastle

SeaCastle

Well-Known Member
I'm getting the feeling that Tomorrowland will be the dumping ground for the Marvel properties, much like how today it is chock-full of extraneous toons.
 
lebeau

lebeau

Well-Known Member
menamechris said:
I agree with you there!

I have to admit - Disney's purchase of Marvel has mystified me. I don't get it.
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I think the purchase made a lot of sense when you consider that Disney has always had trouble appealing to the demographic that Marvel characters appeal to. With Marvel, the have the ability to make TV shows and video games that will appeal to boys who have outgrown Cars. That was the appeal of the Marvel deal - nothing to do with theme parks.

Did they overpay? That's a question that only time will answer completely. In the long run, Disney should turn a profit on the deal. And I can't think of something else they could have purchased that would have given them access to the same lucrative demo. Disney sure as heck couldn't develop such a property themselves based on their track record to date. So, I'm inclined to believe that even though Disney paid a premium for Marvel, the deal will prove to be a good one in the end.
 
Fractal514

Fractal514

Well-Known Member
A few points...

1. As I have read it, and understand it, Universal has the rights to the characters they have developed attractions for. This is CLEARLY the Hulk, Spider-man, Dr. Doom, Storm. Less clear would be extracting that to include the Fantastic Four and X-Men. IF this is true, then Thor, Capt. America, and Iron Man are all up for grabs, and could very easily be used in a variety of ways at Disney.

2. Why would Disney want Marvel on property? Simply put, to entertain the teenage boys and young men staying on vacation. I think the inclusion of some Marvel Properties would make the prospect of vacationing at Disney much more attractive, and also might save parents from having to drive over to Universal to see them.

3. Those who just seem dead set against seeing the characters in the parks are, IMHO, just a bunch of curmudgeons. Disney has been acquiring, creating, and displaying disparate properties since the beginning, heck the Frito Bandito was in Disneyland from the start. While Spider-man isn't everyone's cup of tea, neither is Phineas and Ferb, or Aerosmith, or Star Wars, and yet they all live in Hollywood Studios, quite happily together. I don't want to see Wolverine become the new Stitch, but that's true of any character, Disney owned or not. I think the vocal nay-sayers just need to back off a bit and let the Marvel fans enjoy the prospect of seeing properties they DO love, introduced in an appropriate manner.

Now, with that out of the way... Here are my proposals.

Main Street USA- Now Featuring Capt. America Meet and Greet
Stark Enterprise's Presents: Tomorrow Land
New World Show Case Country, Latveria, with Dr. Doom themed E-Ticket Ride
New World Show Case Country, Wakanda, with Vibranium Mine Cart Ride
Wonders of Life Reopens with a Genetic Retheme and focus on the X-Men
New Continent in Animal Kingdom- The Savage Lands, replaces that pile of crap about dinosaurs now there.
Streets of America becomes a non-stop fight zone between Spider-man, Daredevil, Punisher, the Thing and the Sinister Six.


Just some thoughts ;)
 
WDWmazprty

WDWmazprty

Well-Known Member
Fractal514 said:
A few points...

1. As I have read it, and understand it, Universal has the rights to the characters they have developed attractions for. This is CLEARLY the Hulk, Spider-man, Dr. Doom, Storm. Less clear would be extracting that to include the Fantastic Four and X-Men. IF this is true, then Thor, Capt. America, and Iron Man are all up for grabs, and could very easily be used in a variety of ways at Disney.

2. Why would Disney want Marvel on property? Simply put, to entertain the teenage boys and young men staying on vacation. I think the inclusion of some Marvel Properties would make the prospect of vacationing at Disney much more attractive, and also might save parents from having to drive over to Universal to see them.

3. Those who just seem dead set against seeing the characters in the parks are, IMHO, just a bunch of curmudgeons. Disney has been acquiring, creating, and displaying disparate properties since the beginning, heck the Frito Bandito was in Disneyland from the start. While Spider-man isn't everyone's cup of tea, neither is Phineas and Ferb, or Aerosmith, or Star Wars, and yet they all live in Hollywood Studios, quite happily together. I don't want to see Wolverine become the new Stitch, but that's true of any character, Disney owned or not. I think the vocal nay-sayers just need to back off a bit and let the Marvel fans enjoy the prospect of seeing properties they DO love, introduced in an appropriate manner.

Now, with that out of the way... Here are my proposals.

Main Street USA- Now Featuring Capt. America Meet and Greet
Stark Enterprise's Presents: Tomorrow Land
New World Show Case Country, Latveria, with Dr. Doom themed E-Ticket Ride
New World Show Case Country, Wakanda, with Vibranium Mine Cart Ride
Wonders of Life Reopens with a Genetic Retheme and focus on the X-Men
New Continent in Animal Kingdom- The Savage Lands, replaces that pile of crap about dinosaurs now there.
Streets of America becomes a non-stop fight zone between Spider-man, Daredevil, Punisher, the Thing and the Sinister Six.


Just some thoughts ;)
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This.:D
 
M

maxairmike

Well-Known Member
lebeau said:
I think the purchase made a lot of sense when you consider that Disney has always had trouble appealing to the demographic that Marvel characters appeal to. With Marvel, the have the ability to make TV shows and video games that will appeal to boys who have outgrown Cars. That was the appeal of the Marvel deal - nothing to do with theme parks.

Did they overpay? That's a question that only time will answer completely. In the long run, Disney should turn a profit on the deal. And I can't think of something else they could have purchased that would have given them access to the same lucrative demo. Disney sure as heck couldn't develop such a property themselves based on their track record to date. So, I'm inclined to believe that even though Disney paid a premium for Marvel, the deal will prove to be a good one in the end.
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Bingo!

Marvel brings the chance to lock in a demographic that they have done a pretty darn good job of estranging for the longest time now. Even franchises like Toy Story have ended up with largely female-oriented merchandise because Disney just doesn't hold the male demographic very well, and hasn't really made an effort to. The park aspect is secondary for the Marvel end of things.
 
MAF

MAF

Well-Known Member
I must admit that I LOVE the X-Men and it would be so amazing if they built the X-mansion with a cutting edge thrill ride inside. YES!
 
lebeau

lebeau

Well-Known Member
Fractal514 said:
1. As I have read it, and understand it, Universal has the rights to the characters they have developed attractions for. This is CLEARLY the Hulk, Spider-man, Dr. Doom, Storm. Less clear would be extracting that to include the Fantastic Four and X-Men. IF this is true, then Thor, Capt. America, and Iron Man are all up for grabs, and could very easily be used in a variety of ways at Disney.
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These characters are very clearly included in the Universal deal. We dug up the contract a while back. I don't have the link but it is availabel online. Feel free to search for the many threads in which this was discussed.
 
Fractal514

Fractal514

Well-Known Member
lebeau said:
These characters are very clearly included in the Universal deal. We dug up the contract a while back. I don't have the link but it is availabel online. Feel free to search for the many threads in which this was discussed.
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Feel free to also search and find that many threads are inconclusive. There are lots of opinions floating around from arm-chair lawyers and executives, but until I hear from the house of mouse, I'm not taking anything for fact.
 
lebeau

lebeau

Well-Known Member
Fractal514 said:
Feel free to also search and find that many threads are inconclusive. There are lots of opinions floating around from arm-chair lawyers and executives, but until I hear from the house of mouse, I'm not taking anything for fact.
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You could just read the document yourself. But if you choose to cling to some fanboy dream that will never be realized*, suit yourself.

*barring a major change in the status quo

People who want to say the terms are unclear at this point are just trying to muddy the waters so they can go on armchair imagineering. But the facts are clear at this point. A lot of people just don't want to accept that.
 
Wilt Dasney

Wilt Dasney

Well-Known Member
Fractal514 said:
Feel free to also search and find that many threads are inconclusive. There are lots of opinions floating around from arm-chair lawyers and executives, but until I hear from the house of mouse, I'm not taking anything for fact.
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You'll never (ever, ever, ever...) hear Disney say they don't have the rights to build rides around any particular character.

I brought up the same point as you about Thor, Iron Man and Cap a while back before I saw the contract. I don't recall the particulars now, but I think it's pretty clear that any property depicted at Uni is locked down, which those are in some way, shape or form.
 
M

maxairmike

Well-Known Member
This was the first Google results for "marvel universal contract"

Here is a snip from that article.
The contract allows Universal to continue using the Marvel trademarks for as long as the attractions are in operation. It also ensures that no other theme park east of the Mississippi River -- including Walt Disney World -- can develop attractions based on the same characters.
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Here is a quote from the second article from the same search.

“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,” Iger told CNBC. “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.”
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Just from those two articles, the issue seems pretty cut and dry. I'll see what else I can come up with.

EDIT: To add/affirm the post above, Captain America appears in the park and in some promotional means, so I believe Universal has him locked down as well. The Fantastic Four is used in small ways around the Island as well. I believe I have seen Thor used every now and then, but I don't believe Iron Man has been used at all by Universal.
 
D

Disday

Member
The Universal-Marvel contract isn't as set in stone as Universal fans would like it to be. Disney will either buy it out, or the contract will expire. Universal still hasn't made a move to buy the Florida parks from Blackstone. If they don't by June 12, Blackstone has the right to sell to a third party. Although I don't see many companies lining up to buy the resort, it may end the Universal-Marvel contract. A local news channel claimed that the Marvel license would be in jeopardy by the sale.:dazzle:
 

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