We’re so close to having the X-Men and Avengers meet on the big screen. On Friday, Fox shareholders agreed to Disney’s bid of $71.3 billion. This followed a bit of a bidding war between Disney and Comcast, who had previously bid $65 billion in cash. Most of Disney’s bid amounted to shares, instead of actual cash. However, Comcast moved on to pursue UK-based broadcaster Sky after their initial bid failed. As such, Disney is quite close to its goal to acquire Fox.
What this Means for Disney
Disney, which has been on a roll acquiring film studios and entertainment rights, is ascendant at the moment. In 2009, they acquired Marvel Studios, and have released countless blockbuster hits starring Marvel characters. Lucasfilm was acquired in 2012 as well, bringing Star Wars to the House of Mouse. Disney is now on track to be one of the largest entertainment companies in the world. The Fox acquisition will require that all of Fox’s sports networks be spun off into distinct entities so that the merger doesn’t violate anti-competition laws.
What this Means for the MCU
Most importantly to fans of Marvel movies, this now means that the X-Men and the Avengers are back under the same roof. Additionally, the Fantastic Four have now been brought back into the fold. This means that one of the most successful superhero franchises of all time can now use its biggest names. Marvel fans around the world are ecstatic to see where this might lead.
Fans are particularly eager to see a potential Avengers Vs X-Men adaptation. A new series of X-Men films re-establishing the characters in the MCU may be in order, as well. Additionally, a series of films focusing on the Fantastic Four and introducing audiences to the comics-accurate version of the team could also be in the works if this deal goes through.
What’s Next for Disney to Acquire Fox?
The merger must now pass the FCC. Yes, this means that the internet’s least favorite person, professional jerk Ajit Pai is the final arbiter on whether or not your favorite comic book characters can appear on-screen together. If that’s not enough to make you a little antsy, I don’t know what is. However, odds are good this merger will pass the FCC. In as little as two years we could see Iron Man onscreen alongside Wolverine! How awesome is that?
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