While this news doesn't only affect television, it does affect the industry enough to warrant a mention since both companies have historically had a television presence. Disney has purchased Marvel Entertainment for about $4 billion.
So does this mean we'll be seeing Spider-Mickey cartoons in the near future? Beats me. There are certainly benefits to Disney's acquisition. Marvel is predominately known as a comic book company and that market has been shrinking. However, the visibility of its characters has been growing due to the myriad of Marvel movies out there.
I'm sure words like 'synergy' and 'downsizing' are going to be used when describing this situation in the future. Will there be layoffs at Marvel? Should editor-in-chief Joe Quesada fear for his job?
My biggest concern is content interference on the part of Disney and the "toning down" of the more adult storylines and characters at Marvel in an effort to maintain the corporate image of its new parent. One can only hope that Disney lets Marvel be Marvel.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-31-2009 @ 11:34AM
Ashley Boyd said...
Well considering Disney owned companies have produced title such as Trainspotting, Pulp Fiction, The Others, 40 Days & 40 Nights, Kill Bill and countless others I don't think there is too much to worry about.
I presume its more of a "let's buy this company and increase profits" kind of approach then "let's cast the Jonas brothers as the new Spider-Man, Iron Man and Hulk".
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8-31-2009 @ 11:36AM
Galley said...
Howard vs. Donald: The Ultimate Showdown - coming soon to a theater near you
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8-31-2009 @ 1:32PM
ac said...
The Jonas Brothers will probably now be doing the theme song for Spiderman 4.
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8-31-2009 @ 11:52AM
Brian said...
Universal Studios is so screwed. They just lost the possibility of keeping the superhero-themed rides at their parks without shelling out massive licensing fees to the mouse.
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8-31-2009 @ 11:59AM
capamerica said...
I wonder if this will let Marvel regain control over the movie rights for X-Men and Spiderman?
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8-31-2009 @ 12:08PM
Tom said...
Wow, Marvel really is a Mickey Mouse company now.
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8-31-2009 @ 12:28PM
Elf said...
To Cap who questioned above: No, all of Marvels' character rights held by studios other than Marvel Studios will stay at the studios where they currently reside for the remainder of the established contracts. Disney could try to renegotiate or buy the contracts out from Sony, Fox and a third studio that holds some other rights. Considering how much money Sony has made from Spiderman, it's unlikely they'll let go of the rights, so I wouldn't count on seeing a big Spidey/Wolverine battle on the big screen any time soon.
I think the biggest effect of the deal will be seen on the Disney XD channel which is aimed primarily at boys aged 5-14 and airs lots of superhero related programming from both Marvel and DC. (This 43 year old will admit to having watched a little of the superman and Batman animated series just last night.) I'd expect to see a lot of cross-pollination between DXD and Marvel.
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8-31-2009 @ 1:05PM
litehousebeacon said...
Does this mean Marvel will publish the Incredibles comics now?
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8-31-2009 @ 1:44PM
Ron said...
Oh Stan... once again you have let us down :(
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8-31-2009 @ 8:11PM
Todd said...
Stan hasn't been in charge for quite a while. I grew up a diehard DC fan and see what can happen when you are owned by a huge corporation.