Screamscape: Possible Buy Out of Universal for Marvel Theme Park Rights?

[Disday]

Here is the latest rumor that I have heard from a reliable source on another Disney site. Disney is buying out the contract for the remaining Marvel characters at Universal. The name of the 5th theme park is - World of Marvel. Reportedly, this is in some level of development for WDW.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Here is the latest rumor that I have heard from a reliable source on another Disney site. Disney is buying out the contract for the remaining Marvel characters at Universal. The name of the 5th theme park is - World of Marvel. Reportedly, this is in some level of development for WDW.

All well and good if Walt Disney World could actually sustain a fifth park.

 

[Krack]

Basically, Disney is changing XD to be a Marvel-based channel in the next few years... Maybe within the next 2 years, I'm not sure... They have developed a new Spiderman cartoon series... They developed a new X-Men cartoon series... A new Avengers cartoon series...

Disney would want to market these new shows and the new channel... And would probably use DHS to market it... However, they cannot use the characters that are depicted in Marvel Super Hero Island... Which eliminates Spiderman, X-Men, and I believe the Avengers (Hulk, Captain America, Iron Man, Thor)... So, they just may do what they can legally to get 100% rights back from Universal...

That's all I was trying to get across...

Disney didn't buy Marvel so it could create new superheroes to use in their parks and on television - they did it for the characters with 50-60 years of history and public awareness (Spiderman, Captain America, the Hulk, Iron Man, etc). And pretty much every character with any public awareness (and I mean every character - see the images) is already in use in IOA. If Disney wants to actually use its new purchase anywhere near its potential, they are going to either (1) buy out the Universal license, or (2) create television programming, and films, and toys that can't be marketed in their parks, while simultaneously giving people a reason to want to go to IOA.

The gang's all there. And that's just the artwork on a mural in the middle of the land.

 

[Captain Chaos]

Here is the latest rumor that I have heard from a reliable source on another Disney site. Disney is buying out the contract for the remaining Marvel characters at Universal. The name of the 5th theme park is - World of Marvel. Reportedly, this is in some level of development for WDW.

Was this from a cruise ship director?

 

[Captain Chaos]

Disney didn't buy Marvel so it could create new superheroes to use in their parks and on television - they did it for the characters with 50-60 years of history and public awareness (Spiderman, Captain America, the Hulk, Iron Man, etc). And pretty much every character with any public awareness (and I mean every character - see the images) is already in use in IOA. If Disney wants to actually use its new purchase anywhere near its potential, they are going to either (1) buy out the Universal license, or (2) create television programming, and films, and toys that can't be marketed in their parks, while simultaneously giving people a reason to want to go to IOA.

The gang's all there. And that's just the artwork on a mural in the middle of the land.

I actually want one of those if ans when Marvel Island goes bye bye!!!

Krack, you are basically confirming what I said.... Disney has already created a new Spiderman series... I think it plays on XD right now, not sure... They have produced an X-Men series with a new one I believe in the works... They are producing a new Avengers cartoon series... So, that is part of the potential Disney has with marvel...

Now we all know Disney loves to advertise their products all over the place... You know they would cross promote the new Marvel channel any chance they get to help drive up viewership... What better way to cross promote it than at DHS??? But, they can't at the moment because of the rights being owned by Universal... So, as you said number 1, Disney will have to buy the rights back... I can see that happening... The reward is worth the risk... IMHO anyway... Marvel characters are never going to die out...

Didn't Disney recently purchase the distribution rights for Iron Man 3 and a few of the other properties back already???

 

[Captain Chaos]

Answering my own post above... Disney did buy back the rights to the new Avengers movie and Iron Man 3:

Disney Buys Paramount's Rights to Marvel Movies Including Next `Iron Man'

Walt Disney Co. agreed to pay Viacom Inc.’s Paramount Pictures at least $115 million for distribution rights to “Iron Man 3” and the “Avengers,” gaining full control of movies owned by its Marvel Entertainment unit.

Paramount, hired to distribute Marvel films before the movie and comic book company was bought by Disney for about $4 billion in January, will release “Thor” and “Captain America” next year, the companies said today in a statement.

The $115 million will serve as a minimum guarantee to Paramount, the companies said. Disney, based in Burbank, California, has made Marvel and Pixar Animation the focus of its movie-making and agreed in July to sell its Miramax film division to private-equity investors Colony Capital LLC.

Paramount “probably made good at least on what they would have earned on the Marvel releases,” said Matt Harrigan, a Denver-based analyst with Wunderlich Securities. “I’d be surprised if Paramount got just $115 million. That’s just a floor.”

The deal may be viewed as a sign of Paramount management’s confidence it can generate profit from an internally produced slate, JPMorgan analyst Imran Khan said in a note to investors.

Movie franchises produced by Paramount include “Star Trek” and the “Transformers,” “Mission: Impossible” and “G.I. Joe” films.

Paul Roeder, a Disney spokesman, declined to comment beyond the statement. Steven Rubenstein, Paramount’s outside spokesman, declined to comment.

Disney fell 13 cents to $34.75 at 4 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares have gained 7.8 percent this year. New York-based Viacom fell 23 cents to $37.64. The class B shares are up 27 percent this year.

“Thor” is set for release on May 6, 2011. “Captain America” is planned for July 22, 2011, according to the Internet Movie Database. “The Avengers” will be released in 2012 and “Iron Man 3” in 2013, Disney said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Michael White in Los Angeles at mwhite8@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Anthony Palazzo at apalazzo@bloomberg.net

 

[Captain Chaos]

So, again, Disney WILL heavily promote these movies... And will promote them in the parks... Does anyone honestly think Disney will allow their characters to stay in the competition's theme park?? No way... Disney will probably wind up buying out the rights from Universal...

 

[GLaDOS]

So, again, Disney WILL heavily promote these movies... And will promote them in the parks... Does anyone honestly think Disney will allow their characters to stay in the competition's theme park?? No way... Disney will probably wind up buying out the rights from Universal...

And Universal can just say no until they get what they want out of Disney.:shrug:

 

[goinpostal]

it makes no sense for them to do this, for there are 2 reasons not to...

#1

They now get Financial Records for Universal Studios Parks with said Characters, which is priceless to them... Which is one reason evenually Universal will end up giving the rights up.

#2

Universal can not change a thing to the area, not add a single thing, for Marvel was smart and put in their licences that any changes had to be aprroved and new agreements reached. Meaning they would make more money off of it. So now any changes go to DISNEY. And do you see them giving Universal this.. So if Universal wants a guy in a Spiderman suit sweeping up garbage, they have to ask permission for it. And if they didnt said right are not valid anymore and the licences are void.



So don't think Universal has any power play in this what so ever.....


Disney will sit pat and make some Millions off of all the licences they now hold and wait for a deal that is good for them... Most of the licences expire in less then 10 years and then you will start to see Disney making and using the characters then..

 

[lazyboy97o]

it makes no sense for them to do this, for there are 2 reasons not to...

#1

They now get Financial Records for Universal Studios Parks with said Characters, which is priceless to them... Which is one reason evenually Universal will end up giving the rights up.

This issue has already been dealt with. Those numbers are not allowed to be seen anywhere near Parks and Resorts.

 

[cheezbat]

Disney didn't spend BILLIONS of dollars not to use those characters in their parks. They know how awkward things would be if the Marvel characters are all over Disney, and featured in the four other resorts, but NOT Walt Disney World. WDW is the flagship resort....they want their characters in their parks.
Now Universal's current Marvel contract lasts for another 8 years. I'm almost positive we will see MSHI go bye bye within the next 5. That gives both Disney enough time to create rides and attractions based on Marvel, and Universal enough time to redevelop MSHI.

While the SciFi theme and Transformers sounds like a possibility, I'd put my money on DC Comics. Warner Bros and Universal have a pretty strong relationship together lately, so it would make plenty of sense...especially if Six Flags continues their 'de-branding' at their parks...where the DC Comics characters COULD eventually find their way out of the parks as well.

 

[lazyboy97o]

While the SciFi theme and Transformers sounds like a possibility, I'd put my money on DC Comics. Warner Bros and Universal have a pretty strong relationship together lately, so it would make plenty of sense...especially if Six Flags continues their 'de-branding' at their parks...where the DC Comics characters COULD eventually find their way out of the parks as well.

I doubt that DC Comics will be leaving the Six Flags chain any time soon. I believe Warner Bros. still has some ownership in the company, plus the Looney Tunes and DC Comics are the chain's oldest characters. The "de-branding" is about getting focus back onto a few brands, particularly their older, traditional brands.

That said, I do think Warner Bros. would be open to having the DC characters take up residence at Islands of Adventure. Six Flags may protest, but Warner Bros. no longer wholly owns those parks, so they are probably not as concerned about any customer confusion. Secondly, Six Flags is clearly not in the business of expanding. The nearest Six Flags park is Six Flags Over Georgia just east of Atlanta. That is about a seven to eight hour drive. While I do make quick trips down to Orlando, not many others I know are up for such an excursion, and nobody here is deciding between going to an Orlando park or Six Flags Over Georgia (although I did once decide to go to Disney's Animal Kingdom for the day instead of Zoo Atlanta).

 

[trr1]

Disney didn't spend BILLIONS of dollars not to use those characters in their parks. They know how awkward things would be if the Marvel characters are all over Disney, and featured in the four other resorts, but NOT Walt Disney World. WDW is the flagship resort....they want their characters in their parks.
Now Universal's current Marvel contract lasts for another 8 years. I'm almost positive we will see MSHI go bye bye within the next 5. That gives both Disney enough time to create rides and attractions based on Marvel, and Universal enough time to redevelop MSHI.

While the SciFi theme and Transformers sounds like a possibility, I'd put my money on DC Comics. Warner Bros and Universal have a pretty strong relationship together lately, so it would make plenty of sense...especially if Six Flags continues their 'de-branding' at their parks...where the DC Comics characters COULD eventually find their way out of the parks as well.

I thought that universal had the rights for as long as they wanted?

 

[inluvwithbeast]

I doubt that DC Comics will be leaving the Six Flags chain any time soon. I believe Warner Bros. still has some ownership in the company, plus the Looney Tunes and DC Comics are the chain's oldest characters. The "de-branding" is about getting focus back onto a few brands, particularly their older, traditional brands.

That said, I do think Warner Bros. would be open to having the DC characters take up residence at Islands of Adventure. Six Flags may protest, but Warner Bros. no longer wholly owns those parks, so they are probably not as concerned about any customer confusion. Secondly, Six Flags is clearly not in the business of expanding. The nearest Six Flags park is Six Flags Over Georgia just east of Atlanta. That is about a seven to eight hour drive. While I do make quick trips down to Orlando, not many others I know are up for such an excursion, and nobody here is deciding between going to an Orlando park or Six Flags Over Georgia (although I did once decide to go to Disney's Animal Kingdom for the day instead of Zoo Atlanta).

Zoo Atlanta is so small. I felt like there had been all this hype, and then the only thong there that outmatched the OKC Zoo was the pandas.

 

[Disday]

The World of Marvel theme park rumor didn't come from a bus driver or a part-time cast member, it was from a trusted source on the boards of another Disney site. It seems more logical than some of the rumors that have been floating around. I remember reading somewhere, maybe here, that Disney once had a theme park concept called World of Adventures. I doubt they could use that name because there is a park named that in England. - Time will tell if the current rumor is true.

 

[flavious27]

I can't see this happening for a number of reasons:
(1) the money it would take for Uni to give up the rights to a competitor
(2) the cost of redoing the rides at IOA
(3) Uni doesn't have characters that they could easily transfer the existing rides to
(4) The cost of Disney either creating a Marvel Park or adding a major area to one of the existing parks
(5) DISNEY IS ALREADY MAKING MONEY ON THE DEAL! I doubt the potential profit would be bigger than all of the costs above.

If they were going to spend that kind of cash, it would probably cost less just to broaden their deal with Lucas and do the same thing with Star Wars. The rights to the Marvel characters for theme park use will eventually come to Disney anyway (even though it may take 25 years), so why spend the money?

It sounds like Disney would be buying out the contract, so Uni would be getting money from disney. This would cover the cost of refurbing the rides and for new construction. Spiderman can be changed over to a terminator ride, the others park are themed this way. The other rides that are marvel themed will not have to change any elements because their designs were not built around a marvel theme. Maybe this will be the beginning of a 5th park, attendance has being flat and this will help reverse it. The amount of money that disney will get for increase tickets, merch, food and lodging will cover whatever universal is paying them.

 

[AEfx]

But it will be fun to see how it works out. My guess is that if the new "Transformers" attraction does well in California then it will be brought to IoA to replace Marvel. The coaster and free fall ride at IoA could be rethemed almost overnight. Spiderman could also be rethemed without too much trouble.

All my opinion.

Yeah, I don't get the whole "oh it's an integral part of IOA!"

As you said, Spiderman could relatively easily be themed to Transformers (since the R&D is done and it uses the same ride system). Hulk is just a coaster - sure, it's green right now, but aside from some signage in the queue could be rethemed very quickly. The other two rides are simply gussied-up carnival off-the-shelf that also could be re-themed quickly.

Also...everyone saying Transformers will replace Spider-Man is forgetting one thing: Islands of Adventure's underlying theme of literature. The park is built around literature, and they aren't going to change that. Sure Transformers has a comic book, but the universe and characters were not born out of it.

I don't see Universal compromising the park's lineage and tradition for a quick fix.

If you asked 100 park guests what the "overall theme" of IOA is, I bet not one would say "literature".

The gang's all there. And that's just the artwork on a mural in the middle of the land.

Exactly...it's signage. If you take away the Marvel signage...not so much going on there. The only ride with any static connection that couldn't be pretty instantly taken away visually is Spiderman (which, I have to say, would sadden me as it's such an incredible ride). As I said above, the Hulk coaster is green, but if you took away the signs I doubt most people would walk in and say, "HEY IT'S THE HULK!"

Trust me, Universal wants out of Marvel connections. In California, they are already marking down Marvel merchandise (which makes no sense why it's in CA anyway since they have nothing Marvel themed). It's embarrassing for them to have an entire land of IOA that is based on characters owned by their main competitor.

 

[Lee]

For what it's worth...
Disney has no plans at all for a Marvel-themed fifth gate at WDW, so let's just nip that one in the bud right now.

They do have big plans for Marvel overseas, specifically Shanghai and potentially Paris.

Any Marvel additions to WDW will come after Shanghai, after they can get a handle on their success/popularity. Shanghai will be sort of a testing ground for Marvel concepts, in a way.

They are in no rush to get the rights from Uni, and are content to sit back and collect royalties for the next few years.
Uni won't make the change on their own initiative, it would be too expensive. They will ride Marvel as far as they can, and either wait on Disney to eventually buy them out, or the contract to end.

 

[WV_Jayola]

One quick note....

Disney is indeed producing a new Spider-Man cartoon, which will be based around Brian Michael Bendis' "Ultimate Spider-Man" books. It's going to be amazing....the line up of talent working on this show plus the source material pretty much guarantees it.

However...they did not produce any X-Men series of their own yet. The last X-Men series was "Wolverine and the X-Men", which aired on Nickelodeon. I'm sure they will eventually produce an X-Men series of their own...but not yet.

More interesting is the Incredible Hulk show that is going to be produced for ABC. A live action weekly drama with involvement from Guillermo Del Toro... now THAT'S going to be huge.

And on the subject of the Universal rights...I honestly believe that :
a) they are for the moment just sitting back and enjoying watching Uni pay them money for their characters.

b) they WILL eventually flex their Disney muscles and take back what is now theirs. Spider-Man is probably no less than the third most recognizable pop culture character in the world. Disney owns him. They WILL use him in their parks someday. Also, when that Hulk show hits on ABC...they're going to want the rights to him back, too. And when the Captain America and Thor movies blow up HUGE next year....they're going to want them in the parks as well. it's going to happen.

jeff.

 

[Captain Chaos]

WV, there is/was an X-Men cartoon series on XD... Along with several other Marvel based cartoon series, that I know Disney did not produde... The only ones that are being worked on are the ones you and I mentioned, SPiderman, X-Men, and you left out the Avengers.... I didn't know about the Hulk series, thanks for that info... And yes, Thor and Captain America will be huge.. So will Avengers in 2012... Disney WILL want those characters in their parks... They will NOT want Universal having those characters in IOA reaping the benefits of the characters new found popularity after these mega movies hit the theaters...

Disney will find a way to have all theme park rights to ALL Marvel characters within the next two years...