User blog:ARTaylor/Walt Disney Purchases 21st Century Fox

To further their quest for world domination, the overlords at The Walt Disney Company have made another purchase to put more film rights under their banner. The latest to fall in their march across is the globe is 21st Century Fox's film and television division. The company is currently the third largest media conglomerate behind Disney and Comcast. Disney announced plans to purchase the company for $52.4 billion. Fox will spin off off its network and stations including Fox News, Fox Business, FS1, FS2, and Big Ten Network. Disney will acquire the company's film and television studios, cable entertainment networks, and international television businesses. Fox will join Marvel Entertainment, Pixar Animation Studios, and Lucasfilm under the Disney roof.

Disney will acquire the rights to The Simpsons, Avatar, Aliens, Predator, FX Networks, National Geographic, and a large percentage of Hulu. But the thing that will interest Marvel fans most will be that the film rights to the Children of the Atom and Marvel's First Family will once again join the Avengers, Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, and the shared rights to Spider-Man. This means that for the first time in decades Marvel Studios will once again have the rights to all their characters.

Marvel sold them off in the 1980s, '90s, and '00s in order to deal with their financial problems. While this resulted in numerous films, both good and bad, this meant that when Marvel began making their own films they were limited in scope. After various failures, Marvel has reacquired the rights to characters including Blade, Ghost Rider, Punisher, and shares the rights to Spider-Man with Sony Pictures Entertainment. But Fox has continued to have numerous successes with the X-Men, while constantly making films of Fantastic Four in order to retain the rights, keeping these characters out of Marvel's hands. Disney/Marvel and Fox have made various deals in order to share aspects, like a Helicarrier in Fox's Deadpool while the Marvel Cinematic Universe has gotten to use Ego and the Skrulls. The purchase means that Marvel will finally be able to bring all their characters together.

Marvel's loss of the rights have had wider-spread ramifications than just the film rights. Marvel has long stated that they do not wish to promote properties whose films they could not get the full profits. This is why the team Big Hero 6 has not been seen in the comics despite the success of Big Hero 6. The comics have also been downplaying the Fantastic Four and X-Men in recent years. Many aspects of the X-Men have been transferred to the Inhumans while the Fantastic Four have disbanded. The unspoken of feud between Fox and Disney has been rumored to be the reason Wolverine and the X-Men was cancelled while both the X-Men and Fantastic Four were relegated to brief appearances on recent animated series despite their massive history. The comic book creators have continually denied any such feud but it's been impossible for fans to notice the changes in both the long-running franchises. Hopefully this means that comic book fans will see a return to form for both the beloved series.

Disney's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Robert A. Iger said of the deal, "The acquisition of this stellar collection of businesses from 21st Century Fox reflects the increasing consumer demand for a rich diversity of entertainment experiences that are more compelling, accessible and convenient than ever before. We're honored and grateful that Rupert Murdoch has entrusted us with the future of businesses he spent a lifetime building, and we're excited about this extraordinary opportunity to significantly increase our portfolio of well-loved franchises and branded content to greatly enhance our growing direct-to-consumer offerings. The deal will also substantially expand our international reach, allowing us to offer world-class storytelling and innovative distribution platforms to more consumers in key markets around the world."

Fox's Executive Chairman Rupert Murdock, "We are extremely proud of all that we have built at 21st Century Fox, and I firmly believe that this combination with Disney will unlock even more value for shareholders as the new Disney continues to set the pace in what is an exciting and dynamic industry. Furthermore, I'm convinced that this combination, under Bob Iger's leadership, will be one of the greatest companies in the world. I'm grateful and encouraged that Bob has agreed to stay on, and is committed to succeeding with a combined team that is second to none."

Robert Iger will continue to serve as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Walt Disney through the end of the 2021 calendar year at the request of both Fox and Disney's Board of Directors.

Lead Independent Director of the Disney Board Orin C. Smith said, "When considering this strategic acquisition, it was important to the Board that Bob remain as Chairman and CEO through 2021 to provide the vision and proven leadership required to successfully complete and integrate such a massive, complex undertaking. We share the belief of our counterparts at 21st Century Fox that extending his tenure is in the best interests of our company and our shareholders, and will be critical to Disney's ability to effectively drive long-term value from this extraordinary acquisition."