They may well have overpaid. But one thing is clear and that is Disney can't jump in and take over things simply because they are buying Marvel. There are many contracts whether it's for film rights with Paramount, Sony and Fox or theme park rights in Florida and Japan to a lesser degree.
No one said Disney isn't going to try and exploit the characters to the fullest.
That said, you (and many fanbois) mistakenly believe that Disney can just walk in and these other huge media companies will roll over and spread 'em. That's very simplistic and not how these things work. And this is much more complicated because Marvel leveraged its stable amongst many companies.
Disney might want to make money off of say Spidey (since he is the most well known character), but Sony owns him for years ...
Iger is anything but a wuss. He is a cold, cunning, calculating CEO. But if you think the use of the characters in FLA was a major issue for Iger, you're mistaken.
And while he may not be happy about Marvel's deal with Uni, he really has few options ... unless he pays some king's ransom figure to get out of the deal (a figure large enough likely to build a pretty cool theme park).
Also, again, the fanboi community mistakenly thinks that Marvel's characters are somehow 'tainted' by pixie dust because Disney will own the rights. That's just not reality. Again, all it means is that when Uni writes its checks to Marvel, they're really writing them to Disney.
The entertainment industry is very incestuous by nature and companies often work with and for their competition. A small example but it just flashed through my mind is the Shrek Christmas special that was made by Dreamworks Animation (not Dreamworks live action that Disney now has a distribution deal with) for ABC Family. Another might be Disney picking up TV and cable rights to the Harry Potter films. Another might be Disney promoting Indiana Jones, which in turn gives money to Paramount (again a direct competitor), which then gives $$$ to Lucas. ... there are endless examples.
I am semi-familiar with comics and haven't heard of half of the above list.
And again, those characters Disney is free to do what they want with in Florida. But why would they?
Other than Ironman, because of the recent film, most guests won't have a clue who they are.
Disney has a stable of great characters of its own, many that aren't being used remotely to their fullest potential (Muppets anyone? How about Roger Rabbit? Hell, how about characters from any film, other than Stitch, from the past 25 years?)
Yes, I have. And it's well and good that they bring out all those characters.
But imagine if Disney had the event but couldn't use Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Obi Wan, Darth Vader and Chewbacca in any way ...
Because if you turn things around and had a Marvel Weekend that's exactly the scenario you'd be looking at.
. Riiiiiiiight.
