RUMOR: Fox and Disney Rekindle Negotiations
Last we reported Sony was attempting to buy out 20th Century Fox and talks between Fox and Disney had cooled. Now, it seems Disney just might have a second wind.
In Deadline’s Bart & Fleming column, Peter Bart and Mike Fleming Jr. talked about a lot of subjects pertaining to the movie industry. Maybe the hottest topic they touched on was Disney’s potential acquisition of Fox.
Fleming laid out a brand new rumor about Disney rekindling talks with Fox:
I just want to start with a juicy rumor that is fast gaining steam in town today, that Disney is progressing speedily toward that rumored acquisition of Fox.that Disney is progressing speedily toward that rumored acquisition of Fox. The version I heard has the Murdoch clan keeping possession of sports and news properties, and the rest of TV and the film studio going to Disney. Radio silence right now from both studios, and given how Disney made the Marvel and Lucasfilm deals under the cone of silence, if this happens we’ll probably only know it when it’s announced.
Fleming didn’t seem excited about the rumor either:
Not surprisingly, the reaction around town is not enthusiasm, because of the uncertainty that comes with potentially reducing a major studio to content generators under the Disney silo system.
The part that really struck me is the “cone of silence” between the two studios. If anything can be said is that habits can predict behavior. If this is true, then we can expect to hear very soon of a Disney buy out of 20th Century Fox. We saw Disney do the same thing with Lucasfilm as Fleming mentions in 2012. That sale rocked the entertainment industry world. No one saw George Lucas selling Star Wars. Now if this does happen, what does it all mean for us? Could Marvel Studios already be planning for the acquisition of the X-Men and Fantastic Four?
If Disney does acquire Fox, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige would have an enormous opportunity to greatly expand the wildly successful Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The library of characters would be almost complete. Disney would regain control of characters from both the X-Men and Fantastic Four franchises. We could see Mr. Fantastic joining the Avengers. Doctor Doom could become the great villain he is in the comics. The X-Men could further expand Marvel’s cosmic universe as well as provide real-world weight. We are already seeing Fox and Marvel Studios collaborate with The Gifted. But maybe the best thing we could look forward to is Deadpool finally realizing his dream of harassing Peter Parker on the big screen.
And it might just be possible that Kevin Feige is already preparing for Disney’s acquisition of Fox. He’s stated Marvel Studios has 20 films on the board following Avengers 4. Could some of those 20 films involve the X-Men and Fantastic Four. It’s not hard to imagine.
As of right now, things are dark and quiet with Disney and 20th Century Fox. Do you think Disney buying Fox is a good idea? If Disney does buy Fox what stories would you like to see Marvel Studios do with the Fantastic Four and X-Men? ‘
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