Disney Buying Marvel

[sdelmonte]

Really. The Mouse is buying the Spider for $4 billion. (Where are they even finding the money?) At some level, this is not a total shock, since it seemed likely for years that some movie studio would buy Marvel and use its characters to make movies, TV shows, and money. But the timing, in this rotten economy and from a studio that only recently bought Pixar, is quite the surprise.

I cannot even begin to imagine what this will do to the comics industry or to Hollywood. I can guess it will change Marvel in ways we can't foresee, that it will hurt Boom Studios just as their line of licensed Disney comics is launching (is there any way that the license won't be revoked and kept in-house?), that DC is really nervous, and that the handful of people who actually are selling Marvel are feeling really good today.

Prediction: Disney will push to get its favorite actor, Johnny Depp, into a Marvel film.

More to come, I am sure...

Comments

[adiva_calandia]

I can't exactly say I'd be disappointed to see Johnny Depp in a comic book movie (as who, I have no idea, but I'm down with the concept), but that there is a buy-out that makes me nebulously nervous.

[sdelmonte]

Yeah, Disney has that effect on people. The mess that has been Disney's ownership of the Muppets and the culture clash of the Disney-Pixar merger point to a lot that could be wrong (as well as things going right, since Pixar is still Pixar).

[innerbrat]

Hey, remember when Warner and DC merged and the comics industry and Hollywood collapsed in a heap around our ears?

I'm only disappointed that Marvel are already producing great movies.

[sdelmonte]

DC was actually owned by the conglomerate that became Warner Communications two years before it bought Warner Bros. Films. And then the conglomerate proceeded to ignore DC's existence for years, creating the structure that still exists, where the people who run the corporation - be it Warner Communications, Time Warner, or AOL Time Warner - almost never interfere with things.

As much as I wish that someone would slap Dan Didio just once.

My fondest hope is that the same thing happens to Marvel Comics. And since Pixar is more or less allowed to exist that way, there is no reason why Marvel Comics can't be.

But as noted, I am not predicting anything. This could be great for comics, or not. Can't say I worry much what it does to the movies, given movies are their own entity and that Disney has produced a lot of good films.

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

I'm listening to the investor conference call right now... The questions seem to be focused on movies, animations, and consumer products.

[sdelmonte]

Just wait till Rich Johnston gets there.

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

According to the call, Disney approached Marvel. They have no plans to shake up the management or move the company, as they like the way Marvel has been running itself.

[sdelmonte]

While I have a lot of problems with what Marvel is doing - I hate Dark Reign, albeit from afar - I don't want to see them change how they run things (except for those $4 comics). It's a good model and has led to things like X-Factor and Nova and Pet Avengers.