User blog:ARTaylor/The Mouse Owns the Fox

The glorious overlords at The Walt Disney Company will make their next step in world conquest tomorrow with the formal acquisition of 21st Century Fox. The purchase will become official at 12:02 AM ET on the morning of March 20th, 2019. The acquisition includes Fox's film production businesses including Twentieth Century Fox, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Fox 2000 Pictures, Fox Family, and Fox Animation as their television creative units Twentieth Century Fox Television, FX Productions, Fox21, FX Networks, National Geographic Partners, Fox Networks Group International, and Star India. Disney will also get Fox's interests in Hulu, Tata Sky, and Endemol Shine Group.

Disney Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Robert A. Iger said of the merger, "This is an extraordinary and historic moment for us—one that will create significant long-term value for our company and our shareholders. Combining Disney’s and 21st Century Fox's wealth of creative content and proven talent creates the preeminent global entertainment company, well positioned to lead in an incredibly dynamic and transformative era."

Of course, most Marvel fans will recognize that Fox is the rights owners of Marvel properties X-Men, Fantastic Four, and their related characters. This means that once again Marvel Studios will have the film rights of all their characters but Hulk and Namor, who are currently held by Universal, and Spider-Man, who is held by Sony, who Marvel only shares film rights for use in collective films.