UPDATE 8:30 AM PDT - There have been a number of developments since the initial press release about Disneys acquisition of Marvel went out. Disney held a conference call with investors that just finished to discuss the deal and while much of it was focused on the financial aspect of the deal with regards to both current and future opportunities there were a number of comments concerning publishing and Marvels film slate that are of interest.
The bullet points are:
-Existing licensing and distribution deals should remain where they are.
Disney believes theres real opportunity with the Marvel catalog of characters and will work on where those opportunities are greatest and how best to leverage them across the existing Marvel and Disney infrastructure.
-Disney executives went to great lengths during the call to make the point that they dont pretend to be more expert than Marvel is in handling their characters, citing the hands-off relationship Disney has had with Pixar since the acquisition of that studio. Disney said Marvel manages the properties from a business perspective very intelligently and trusts them to make the right decisions for these products for a long time to come.
-Disney said the deal was attractive not just because theyre buying great characters, stories and brand, but about working with people who know these characters best and how best to work with them in other media.
-Again, referencing the Pixar deal, Disney finds working as one company with Marvel removes friction and creates value thats very compelling. Licensing offers very attractive opportunities, but nothing is better than being one. International expansion of Marvel properties through Disney was cited as a potential growth area.
-Cable channel Disney XD is currently running about 20 hours a week of Marvel content and Disney has been looking to license more Marvel content and this deal gives them that opportunity as well as the opportunity to expose these characters internationally.
-With regards to video game publishing, Disney praised Marvels licensing agreements with some of the best video game producers and publishers in the business and said moving forward they will consider whats best for each individual property as each licensing deal comes up for renewal and that there would likely be a blend of licensed and self-produced/self-distributed titles.
-With respect to Paramounts distribution deal with Marvel and the Iron Man franchise, Disney has every intention to respect the deal thats in place, but noted that its in their best interest, overtime, to become the sole distributor of Marvel films.
-Will Disney3D be used for Marvel movies? That will be determined by those who are in charge of producing Marvels theatrical films.
-When asked if there was potential for cross-polination between Marvel and Pixar, Disney said that Pixars John Lasseter has met with key Marvel creative executives recently and the group got pretty excited, very fast. Disney will look at all opportunities and thinks there are some exciting product that could come from this sort of partnership.
-Disney said this deal is expected to benefit Marvels retail efforts, being able to leverage Disneys shelf space and relationships with major chains and distributors.
-The deal began when Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger reached out to Marvel Chief Executive Ike Perlmutter earlier this year. Again, Disney noted that they believe in the creative team at Marvel and see no reason to upset that applecart.
Disney has not made any real estate decisions and sees no reason to move Marvel Studios from their headquarters in Manhattan Beach, California. No mention of Marvel Publishings offices in New York City was made.
In addition, Marvel Editor-In-Chief twittering this morning and has made some comments on the deal:
G' morning, Marvel U! Welcome to this moment in history. Everyone relax, this is incredible news and all is well in the Marvel U.
Everybody take a deep breath, all your favorite comics remain unchanged and Tom Brevoort remains grouchy.
If you're familiar with the Disney/Pixar relationship, then you'll understand why this is a new dawn for Marvel and the comics industry.
Developing
