Do you think Marvel will ever get the rights back from Sony & Fox?

[Raiden]

I understand that back in the older days, Marvel need Sony, Marvel, Lionsgate, as well as Paramount and Universal to help make the movies for them due to the limited financial capability of Marvel Studio. However, now that Marvel has been purchased by the conglomerate Disney and franchises like Spider-man and X-Men established name recognition, I've heard that Disney has exploited the possibility of getting the rights back from Sony and Fox but were detered by the contracts Marvel signed with them years ago. They did have success getting an agreement with Paramount for the rights of the Avengers, and the rights of Hulk from Universal.

Since it is clear that both Sony and Fox are willing to spend millions to reboot the franchises they have rather than letting them lapsed and eventually returned to Marvel, I'd like know what you guys think: Will Marvel ever get the rights back of such properties like Spider-man, X-Men, Fantastic Four, Daredevil, and Ghost Rider? Or do you think the studios that own their rights will just make endless sequels and/or reboots to keep them away from Marvel?

 

[Godzilla2014]

I understand that back in the older days, Marvel need Sony, Marvel, Lionsgate, as well as Paramount and Universal to help make the movies for them due to the limited financial capability of Marvel Studio. However, now that Marvel has been purchased by the conglomerate Disney and franchises like Spider-man and X-Men established name recognition, I've heard that Disney has exploited the possibility of getting the rights back from Sony and Fox but were detered by the contracts Marvel signed with them years ago. They did have success getting an agreement with Paramount for the rights of the Avengers, and the rights of Hulk from Universal.

Since it is clear that both Sony and Fox are willing to spend millions to reboot the franchises they have rather than letting them lapsed and eventually returned to Marvel, I'd like know what you guys think: Will Marvel ever get the rights back of such properties like Spider-man, X-Men, Fantastic Four, Daredevil, and Ghost Rider? Or do you think the studios that own their rights will just make endless sequels and/or reboots to keep them away from Marvel?

In Sony's case, if I had the rights to make Spider-Man movies, then damn straight I wouldn't let go of that cash cow. Same with Fox and the X-Men and Fantastic Four franchises. The property with the best chance of returning to Marvel is Daredevil.

Really, I don't think it's such a bad thing for us. I don't think that Marvel Studios would have made IRON MAN, or at least put as much effort into it as they did, if they had the rights to Spider-Man, X-Men, or Fantastic Four. They sold off their preexisting flagship franchises, so they had to make Iron Man, and now Thor and the Avengers, into great franchises that people would watch. I think it's why you see so many more Marvel Comics characters being adapted for the big screen than DC characters. Since the recent comic book movie boon began, Marvel has gotten Blade, X-Men, Spider-Man, Daredevil, Hulk, Fantastic Four, Ghost Rider, Iron Man, and Thor onto the big screen, with Captain America and the Avengers down the pipeline. DC has gotten Batman and Superman on the big screen, with Green Lantern coming up.

 

[Raiden]

In Sony's case, if I had the rights to make Spider-Man movies, then damn straight I wouldn't let go of that cash cow. Same with Fox and the X-Men and Fantastic Four franchises. The property with the best chance of returning to Marvel is Daredevil.

Really, I don't think it's such a bad thing for us. I don't think that Marvel Studios would have made IRON MAN, or at least put as much effort into it as they did, if they had the rights to Spider-Man, X-Men, or Fantastic Four. They sold off their preexisting flagship franchises, so they had to make Iron Man, and now Thor and the Avengers, into great franchises that people would watch. I think it's why you see so many more Marvel Comics characters being adapted for the big screen than DC characters. Since the recent comic book movie boon began, Marvel has gotten Blade, X-Men, Spider-Man, Daredevil, Hulk, Fantastic Four, Ghost Rider, Iron Man, and Thor onto the big screen, with Captain America and the Avengers down the pipeline. DC has gotten Batman and Superman on the big screen, with Green Lantern coming up.

I'm not disputing that fact, and I don't think Marvel could have had the finance to make movies like Spider-man and X-Men a decade ago. However, now Marvel's situation is different, and they have the capability to make new movies of their flagship franchises and base them in the MCU, but the hurdle is that the studios that own the rights now won't give them up. Personally, I think eventually the gravy train of superhero movies will slow down to a crawl, once moviegoers have enough fill of them, but it may not happen anytime soon. Even Fox will one day be convinced that it is better to let the rights expired than to greenlight another tentpole movie, or at least their shareholders would.

 

[BigThor]

In Sony's case, if I had the rights to make Spider-Man movies, then damn straight I wouldn't let go of that cash cow. Same with Fox and the X-Men and Fantastic Four franchises. The property with the best chance of returning to Marvel is Daredevil.

I'd say Ghost Rider has a pretty good chance of returning to Marvel as well, because I'm pretty sure that's never going to be one of their "cash cow" franchises either.

 

[Godzilla2014]

I'm not disputing that fact, and I don't think Marvel could have had the finance to make movies like Spider-man and X-Men a decade ago. However, now Marvel's situation is different, and they have the capability to make new movies of their flagship franchises and base them in the MCU, but the hurdle is that the studios that own the rights now won't give them up. Personally, I think eventually the gravy train of superhero movies will slow down to a crawl, once moviegoers have enough fill of them, but it may not happen anytime soon. Even Fox will one day be convinced that it is better to let the rights expired than to greenlight another tentpole movie, or at least their shareholders would.

I'm not exactly sure that comic book movies are a passing fad, at least not in the same way that people thought it was back in the early 2000s. Then again, initially people thought the Soviet Union would be short-lived, but by the 1980s, people thought it would be around forever. Then it collapsed in 1991.

I think it maybe that the genre has been reborn and here to stay as long as there are good movies coming out of it that audiences want to see. Which is obvious because that's how free market capitalism works. I'm not so sure that the comic book movie market will collapse in on itself like a neutron star anymore. I mean, it seems like a ton of romantic comedies are coming out that people hate, but that genre isn't dead yet. The health of the superhero movie genre is excellent, with a lot of theatrical releases being praised by movie goers and critics alike. 2 years ago, THE DARK KNIGHT broke a glass ceiling because Heath Ledger was the first person to earn an Oscar for a superhero movie in a category outside of special effects, and especially acting. Superhero movies have advanced far beyond what they were at the time of the BATMAN & ROBIN-induced crash of 1997.

 

[kedrell]

Not anytime soon but in the fullness of time I believe eventually it will happen.

 

[Godzilla2014]

Not anytime soon but in the fullness of time I believe eventually it will happen.

It may be sooner than most think. Disney is a pretty big corporation, and I think that they may aggressively try to negotiate with Sony and Fox to reacquire the rights to Spider-Man, X-Men, and the Fantastic Four. Those characters are pretty big cash cows, and let's face it: Comic books don't make as much money on paper as they do on celluloid. To think that they will not make any effort to get those money makers back would be naive.

 

[R_Hythlodeus]

I sure hope so, but I fear the scorched earth.

 

[Raiden]

It may be sooner than most think. Disney is a pretty big corporation, and I think that they may aggressively try to negotiate with Sony and Fox to reacquire the rights to Spider-Man, X-Men, and the Fantastic Four. Those characters are pretty big cash cows, and let's face it: Comic books don't make as much money on paper as they do on celluloid. To think that they will not make any effort to get those money makers back would be naive.

I also think that Disney will try to be more aggressive when it comes to getting back the rights of these Marvel properties, like their negotiation with Paramount & Universal that made it possible for Disney to be the distributor of Marvel Studio movies starring with the Avengers. It's not just the film rights that Disney is after, it's also the TV and theme park license that Disney wants as well. I think in the future, we might be able to see Marvel superheroes in Disney resorts like the DC superheroes do at Six Flags theme parks.

 

[Timstuff]

Sony: unlikely. Fox: not a chance, at least for X-men.

 

[roach]

to be honest any studio that gives up superhero film properties is stupid

 

[TheFantasticJoe]

I think Marvel is likely to get Daredevil and Fantastic Four back within the next couple of years. I won't hold my breath for X-Men and Spider-Man, though.

 

[roach]

there has been talk of reboots for both...infact Daredevil has a director..David Slade and the movie is scheduled for 2012

 

[Tacit Ronin]

hahaha....

It doesn't matter how "powerful" Disney is. As long as Sony and Fox honor their contracts they can do nothing. These contracts supposedly has NO holes.... to screw them over.

 

[Raiden]

to be honest any studio that gives up superhero film properties is stupid

But in order to keep the rights indefinitely, both Sony and Fox must continuously release a new movie based on the property before the license expires. I know they can do it probably for the next decade or so, but after that I think it'll be hard to keep greenlighting those sequels and reboots.

 

[roach]

Sony and Fox arent anything to sneeze at

Sony is the world's fifth largest media conglomerate with an estimated total equity of 31 billion
Disney is at 39 Billion
I dont see Disney pushing Sony around

Fox is at 1.5 billion

 

[roach]

But in order to keep the rights indefinitely, both Sony and Fox must continuously release a new movie based on the property before the license expires. I know they can do it probably for the next decade or so, but after that I think it'll be hard to keep greenlighting those sequels and reboots.

why would it be hard to do?
we are watching both Fox and Sony do it with X-men and Spider-man

"Hey lets make a sequel to that movie that made us a ton of money"
"But its hard"

 

[bubbadoom]

The first three Spider-Man movies brought in over one billion dollars, so Sony is not giving that one back for a LONG time.

The X-Men movies have done well for Fox, so like wise, they are going nowhere any time soon.

I think Fox would be willing to entertain an offer for the FF and DD, and are posturing to try to bring the price up as much as possible. I would not be too surprised if these went back to Marvel in the not too distant future.

No one cares what happens to Ghost Rider, after the next one flops, Sony will be happy to let it go.

 

[roach]

yet you fail to realize that Marvel is working with Sony and Fox on these movies. Working on FF and DD with Marvel just to boost up the price doesnt seem smart

It may flop but im gonna go see it just for Christopher Lambert

 

[Raiden]

why would it be hard to do?
we are watching both Fox and Sony do it with X-men and Spider-man

"Hey lets make a sequel to that movie that made us a ton of money"
"But its hard"

I concede that it is probably next-to-impossible to get the rights of Spider-man and X-Men back to Marvel, but there's a chance for DD, F4, and GR to return to Disney/Marvel eventually, because they don't make as much money and not that much incentive to just keep making movies out of them if they performed poorly at the BO.

 

[bubbadoom]

Marvel is in a "partnership" with Sony and Fox on these projects, but their input is very limited and pretty much at the studio's discretion.

I am not even sure "Marvel" is really that involved with the new Spidey - I know Avi A. is, but he left Marvel some time ago. Is Kevin F. involved at all? Not sure what "Marvel" guys have their hands in the new X-Men, if any.

 

[roach]

DD,FF and GR werent losses regardless of how we might think of them.
FF did $330mil(WW) with a 100mil budget
FF2 did $289mil(WW) with a 130mil budget
GR did $228mil(WW) with a 110mil budget
DD did $179mil(WW) with a 78mil budget

so while the films didnt excite the fanbois they werent losses in regards to the one thing studios look at INCOME

 

[roach]

Marvel is in a "partnership" with Sony and Fox on these projects, but their input is very limited and pretty much at the studio's discretion.

I am not even sure "Marvel" is really that involved with the new Spidey - I know Avi A. is, but he left Marvel some time ago. Is Kevin F. involved at all? Not sure what "Marvel" guys have their hands in the new X-Men, if any.

unless you are there at meetings I dont think you can comment on Marvel's involvement

 

[Optimus_Prime_]

It certainly seems likely that Fantastic Four will revert back, possibly Daredevil is this new project pokes along and goes belly up.

 

[roach]

it just depends on when the rights are supposed to revert back...just because we dont hear anything about it doesnt mean it isnt moving forward