By Taylor Reese
The fans of Marvel Cinematic Universe can have a sigh of relief and celebrate. After six months of negotiations, the shareholders have struck a deal and Disney will be buying Fox for billions. This purchase will be the ultimate wish fulfillment for MCU fans because of future crossovers, casting actors as iconic characters, and all of the exciting stories. While potential reboots are the highlight of the pending deal—there’s so much to this purchase.
The internet was set ablaze in late July after Disney shareholders voted to buy the Murdoch’s Media Empire for $71.3 billion. A lot of people knew that it would only be a matter of time before the Mouse Empire seized control of Marvel’s other film properties, but Comcast did toss their hand in the bid for Fox. To own the 21st Century Fox Studio will mean you would own a lot of other film franchises like Avatar, Kingsman, Planet of the Apes, Alien, Predator, etc. They’ll also get Fox shows, channels, and a large stake of Hulu’s streaming service. All of which will be Disney’s, and will make them an even bigger competitor against Netflix, Amazon, and Apple.
However, this buyout will still have to go through a lot of hoops and pass through some red tape before the deal is finalized. As of right now, everything seems to be scheduled to be finalized sometime in 2019. One of the things Disney will have to do in order to get Fox; is to sell off all of its sports networks since Disney already owns ESPN. The deal still needs to be approved by regulators in other countries too. If they don’t, Comcast may get another shot at buying Fox. A prospect that some people may want since Disney will gain even more advantage over the culture of media and show business. Another area of concern is the fate of Deadpool.
From the ashes of Green Lantern, Ryan Reynolds’ superhero career is reincarnated into the beloved anti-hero Deadpool. A smash hit at the box office, the “murk with the mouth” is Fox’s most successful “hero” film in recent history, but it has an R-rating. In order to protect its family-friendly image; Disney will most likely cut down on the vulgar humor, which will upset many Deadpool fans. There are rumors that Fox’s planned X-Men films: Dark Phoenix and New Mutants will never see the light of day, so the concern is valid. Not to mention the fate of Wolverine.
It’s hard to imagine anyone other than Hugh Jackman playing the quick-healing mutant, but how could Disney pass up a potentially lucrative opportunity? Mickey does like his cheese after all. Bringing in the original X-team would be amazing, or Disney can take a risk on another team of mutants. After the deal passes—MCU writers can go crazy, except with Spider-Man because he’s still on loan from Sony. And what will happen to X-23? There’s also the question of Quicksilver. Marvel’s only character to have two film versions in different franchises at the same time was a very interesting legal paradox.
Pietro and Wanda Maximoff were established as the twin children of Magneto for decades as well as longtime members of the Avengers. For the longest time, Fox had sole domain over the live-action rights to mutants and anything mutant related. Although when the writers stripped the twins of their mutant origins, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch were able to enter the MCU. This idea went so far that comic writers decided to retcon these longstanding “mutants” in order to match their counterparts on the big screen. The Fox buyout could change everything. If Scarlet Witch’s brother does reappear—and hopefully he will—does Disney keep their own version? Or bring in the seemingly more popular Fox’s version of the fast-paced mutant?
So many questions. So many ideas. So much potential and excitement. Hopefully with some “faith, trust and pixie dust” Marvel’s favorite family will finally have a successful reboot. Marvel fans can just pretend the 2015 one never happened.
