Deadpool’s face just says it all for me really. After months of discussion, Disney has finally purchased 21st Century Fox for an eye-watering $52 billion. However, as part of this buy out the House of Mouse also gets all assets of the 20th Century Fox film studios and a 39 percent stake in Sky. Time to invest in Disney Life, things are about to get interesting.What has Disney Gotten from this Deal?
Look I’m a big Disney fan but this Fox buyout means that Mickey and his mates now own roughly 27% of the film industry. Think about it they already own pretty much everything Pixar, they have the outrageous success that is Marvel and Star Wars. Now add all of this:
- Avatar
- Star Wars
- Die Hard
- X-Men
- Fantastic Four
- Kingsman
- Planet of the Apes
- Alien
- Predator
- Independence Day
- Fight Club
- Home Alone
- Night at the Museum
- The Maze Runner
- Ice Age
- Red Sparrow
- The Martian
- Artemis
- Alvin and the Chipmunks
- Doctor Dolittle
- Percy Jackson
- The Chronicles of Narnia
Essentially all properties that were owned by Fox are now Disney’s. The way they have rebuilt the Star Wars and Marvel franchises should really excite movie fans as we might now actually get a decent Fantastic 4, while the Simpsons also might return to its glory days. The only downside I can see is the amount of power Disney have now as a result when you think about Fox News, Espn and Sky all now apart of the group, essentially they are now the majority shareholders of mainstream media.
Why Did this Happen?
That’s easy. Disney is really looking at making a huge leap into the streaming world. Since the launch of Disney Life, we hear this deal will also incorporate two streaming services. One will be powered by ESPN and the other to be built around movies and Tv shows.
I guess this means the Fox arsenal will be used to charge this ambition and lead a full-on assault on Netflix and Amazon Prime. Along with the already strong catalogue of shows available, we can only assume there will be a push for producing a range of original series as Fox have also contributed it’s stake in Hulu, aka the streaming service showcasing ABC content such as “The Handmaid’s Tale”.
Think a quarter of everything you watch on all platforms now being controlled by a Mouse, that’s what is coming.
At least the MCU will be bitchin’
If you’re a Marvel fan this news will have you doing your best Churchill the dog impression.
Although the sold off characters got their own films of varying success – the less said about the Fantastic Four reboot the better – Marvel fans have been desperate to see them fight villains alongside the likes of heroes The Hulk, Thor and Spider-Man.
To be honest, this one excites me as I was really disappointed in The Fantastic Four and X-Men was so close but so far away, the idea of seeing the rebooted characters coming into the universe alongside Iron Man and Co is just enough to make me sit up and take notice.
It’s no wonder why that Disney did not wait long to make the official announcement that yes, the X-Men, Fantastic Four and Deadpool will be joining the MCU.
We have the opportunity to expand iconic franchises for new generations of fans.
We’re also looking forward to expanding the Marvel cinematic universe to include X-Men, Fantastic Four and Deadpool.
How they plan on feeding these into the MCU is anyone’s guess but hey who cares as long as I can see Tony Stark, Stephen Strange alongside Professor X.
Our Verdict
Look, Disney now own way too much of the market and that’s coming from a self-professed fan of all things Disney. This move pushes them way ahead of their competition in terms of the sheer volume of content and brands that they own. However, with a huge drive towards online streaming services, this shouldn’t surprise anyone as now Netflix will have to keep pushing towards original content while Disney and their new Fox counterparts push all the well known into their own streaming services.
