The Rebooted "Keep Hope Alive" (that the rights can revert back to Marvel) Thread - - - - - - - - - Part 18

[Detective Conan]

And we see today that Netflix's market Cap just eclipsed Disney's...So there is the future that Disney is attempting to transition into.

Yeah, which is why I don't understand some people who think Comcast isn't interested in the Marvel rights and the only want Sky. I would say Roberts is very interested in all of Fox assets(including the Marvel rights) since I suspect those assets would prove to be rather optimal to them in the long run especially since those rights can help them compete with Disney's super-successful MCU if those rights are transferred to Universal(which they own) so they could find an alternative to their failed Monsters Universe. Perhaps Comcast would wish to create their own Marvel Universe with Universal making another shared Marvel Universe with The Fantastic Four and X-Men? They might see those rights along with other Fox assets as an opportunity to add to their own streaming service should they be ever so lucky to successfully nab Fox away from the Mouse.

 

[Willie Lumpkin]

And we see today that Netflix's market Cap just eclipsed Disney's...So there is the future that Disney is attempting to transition into.

Exactly, and, by the way everybody seems so focused on the slightly reduced competition in the film production industry that they don't seem to notice that this deal will actually allow Disney to compete with the 800 lb. Netflix gorilla.

There will be several film production companies left after this deal, but Netflix's monopoly on the streaming side will be threatened. If increased competition is good for us, this deal will give us increased competition where we really need it.

 

[Willie Lumpkin]

Yeah, which is why I don't understand some people who think Comcast isn't interested in the Marvel rights and the only want Sky. I would say Roberts is very interested in all of Fox assets(including the Marvel rights) since I suspect those assets would prove to be rather optimal to them in the long run especially since those rights can help them compete with Disney's super-successful MCU if those rights are transferred to Universal(which they own) so they could find an alternative to their failed Monsters Universe. Perhaps Comcast would wish to create their own Marvel Universe with Universal making another shared Marvel Universe with The Fantastic Four and X-Men?

Universal's Monsters are potentially HUGE. I was a big fan of those monsters when I was a kid. I had models, posters etc., and in some ways they were as big or bigger than the comic-book characters I enjoyed.

It's not that Marvel's characters are inherently more valuable than Universal's monsters (or DC's superheroes for that matter), it's that Marvel knows how to do their films right in a way that connects with fans my age and reminds them of the comics they read while also connecting with new fans.

Universal needs to use the elements of those monsters that made them work. They had themes and depth. They were complex and written and paced in a way that allowed viewers to enjoy them on a number of levels.

Universal's Tom Cruise Mummy movie was a terrible, terrible cliche' CGI overdone piece of crap. If they made films like that using the Marvel characters, they'd be just as big failures.

 

[Kuwolski]

Yeah, which is why I don't understand some people who think Comcast isn't interested in the Marvel rights and the only want Sky. I would say Roberts is very interested in all of Fox assets(including the Marvel rights) since I suspect those assets would prove to be rather optimal to them in the long run especially since those rights can help them compete with Disney's super-successful MCU if those rights are transferred to Universal(which they own) so they could find an alternative to their failed Monsters Universe. Perhaps Comcast would wish to create their own Marvel Universe with Universal making another shared Marvel Universe with The Fantastic Four and X-Men? They might see those rights along with other Fox assets as an opportunity to add to their own streaming service should be ever so lucky to successfully nab Fox away from the Mouse.

Exactly, and, by the way everybody seems so focused on the slightly reduced competition in the film production industry that they don't seem to notice that this deal will actually allow Disney to compete with the 800 lb. Netflix gorilla.

There will be several film production companies left after this deal, but Netflix's monopoly on the streaming side will be threatened. If increased competition is good for us, this deal will give us increased competition where we really need it.

It's only a matter of time before Apple really takes the deep plunge into the industry with mass content creation. We see Amazon moving it's future production into the Culver Studios complex, etc. The writing is on the wall and Disney is bulking up for the inevitable new competition on the horizon. The old vulnerable studios will be replaced with new ones using a different model. Not less competition, but more.

 

[Willie Lumpkin]

It's only a matter of ti before Apple really takes the deep plunge into the industry with mass content creation. We see Amazon moving it's future production into the Culver Studios complex, etc. The writing is on the wall and Disney is bulking up for the inevitable new competition on the horizon. The old vulnerable studios will be replaced with new ones using a different model. Not less competition, but more.

Yep. Without question. People are spending less time going to movie theaters and more time binge-watching on their couch and the industry is adapting to that new paradigm.

 

[Iceman]

Yep. Without question. People are spending less time going to movie theaters and more time binge-watching on their couch and the industry is adapting to that new paradigm.

At the same time they are turning out for the really big films as 2 films in the $600ms in quick succession show. But aside from that, yes certainly.

 

[Dark Raven]

Universal's Monsters are potentially HUGE. I was a big fan of those monsters when I was a kid. I had models, posters etc., and in some ways they were as big or bigger than the comic-book characters I enjoyed.

It's not that Marvel's characters are inherently more valuable than Universal's monsters (or DC's superheroes for that matter), it's that Marvel knows how to do their films right in a way that connects with fans my age and reminds them of the comics they read while also connecting with new fans.

Universal needs to use the elements of those monsters that made them work. They had themes and depth. They were complex and written and paced in a way that allowed viewers to enjoy them on a number of levels.

Universal's Tom Cruise Mummy movie was a terrible, terrible cliche' CGI overdone piece of crap. If they made films like that using the Marvel characters, they'd be just as big failures.

If Universal or Sony or Fox had the MCU characters in their library, they wouldn't know what to do with them and would still make a pig's ear out of the movies.

 

[MasterCat]

Exactly, and, by the way everybody seems so focused on the slightly reduced competition in the film production industry that they don't seem to notice that this deal will actually allow Disney to compete with the 800 lb. Netflix gorilla.

There will be several film production companies left after this deal, but Netflix's monopoly on the streaming side will be threatened. If increased competition is good for us, this deal will give us increased competition where we really need it.

When do you think Disney-owned content will be pulled from Netflix? They're filming new seasons of their existing Marvel shows for future release.

Also, a Universal X-Men/FF universe? If they were smart, they could do events like X-Men vs. Dracula.

 

[Dark Raven]

Universal make a FF movie. In the comics, the Baxter Building blows up once again and the FF are gone for good.

 

[MasterCat]

Universal make a FF movie. In the comics, the Baxter Building blows up once again and the FF are gone for good.

Marvel and DC only sell tiny numbers of comics, like 50,000 for famous characters like Spider-Man or X-Men. So it doesn't really matter.

 

[ADollarADay]

Netflix briefly passed Disney today in market cap before Disney passed it back up again by a hair. Netflix had already passed Comcast earlier in the week. Doing a comparison table between FAANG and the we can see why consolidation and move towards being more tech centric is happening with these old media companies.

 

[InCali]

Everybody in this thread is so pro Disney lol.

So I have to wonder, if the fate of a few Marvel properties didn't hang in the balance with this deal, would everyone still be pro Disney? Or be angry about the even bigger monopoly that Disney and to a lesser extent Comcast will have in the industry?

I think Fox and Comcast are both terrible companies, and neither of them have our best interest in mind. Even Disney is pretty awful, and they already own too much as it is.

I just want to see movies I enjoy. Disney is making them. If that makes me pro Disney, so be it. I think along the lines of being pro movies I like. If someone else makes movies I like, I'll be pro them also.

 

[DawnWarrior]

Now just so we're clear: if Comcast buys Fox, then the FF and X-Men get stuck with them, right?
Or can those movie rights still revert to Marvel/Disney anyway?

 

[MasterCat]

We'd have to see the film license Fox and then-independent Marvel signed all those years ago.

 

[Detective Conan]

Now just so we're clear: if Comcast buys Fox, then the FF and X-Men get stuck with them, right?
Or can those movie rights still revert to Marvel/Disney anyway?

Hate to say it but it’s very likely the rights won’t revert back to Disney/Marvel if their bought out by anyone else besides Disney.

There is no definitive evidence that shows that the licensing agreements are non-transferable. Matter of fact, even if the rights are transferable it still wouldn’t apply in this particular case because 21st Fox isn’t selling those rights independently from themsevles to a rival studio(i.e. Warner Bros) but they themselves are being bought in their entirety(I’m talking solely about the film division as I know Fox News and Fox Sports isn’t what is being bought). The Marvel rights merely come with the package therefore Fox isn’t violating any licensing agreement made prior to them acquiring the rights.

Here’s my speculation as to what would happen should Comcast get the Fox assets.

Scenario 1. They would absorb Fox into Universal and those rights transfer to Universal instead of Disney/Marvel which might lead to Universal rebooting X-Men and Fantastic Four anyway(which would be ironic since one of reasons the Fox-fans are opposed to Disney getting the rights is because they don’t want to see the current cast go and reboot). I speculate that is what’s motivating Roberts to be so bullish on getting Fox. Though Roberts would like Warners that’s clearly off the table(unless the AT&T/Time Warner falls apart). The Fox television/film assets would be greatly beneficial for Comcast in the era of the streaming service and would get them on some equal footing with the elephant in room (Netflix).

Scenario 2. Comcast might keep Fox as a subsidiary with the status quo remaining the same as far as the Marvel rights are concerned with Fox continuing their X-series with all the spin-offs and their unwanted attempts at FF like nothing ever happened. The same old same old. Sadly this is the most likely outcome of Comcast gets the Marvel Rights. Either way, there’s no way the rights go back to Disney/Marvel. They will stay the same with Fox just the same as before.

I wish I was wrong, but I have a feeling I’m right.

 

[MasterCat]

Because Warner Bros had Marvel's rival as a subsidiary, it's likely that Marvel Entertainment lawyers wrote in a clause forfeiting the rights in event of a Fox/Warner merger or buyout, actually. But would they only name Warner in the legalese? We'd need to be allowed to see the text.

 

[Detective Conan]

Because Warner Bros had Marvel's rival as a subsidiary, it's likely that Marvel Entertainment lawyers wrote in a clause forfeiting the rights in event of a Fox/Warner merger or buyout, actually. But would they only name Warner in the legalese? We'd need to be allowed to see the text.

Speculation. We have no idea at the moment.

 

[MasterCat]

Speculation. We have no idea at the moment.

Right, we don't. Fans always said the film right contracts had "use it or lose it" clauses, yet the Hulk sort of reverted even with use and Namor is still locked up with nothing ever produced.

 

[Dasher10]

I feel like Disney should sell Sky to Comcast in exchange for the Hulk and Namor film rights to get them to back off.

 

[MasterCat]

I feel like Disney should sell Sky to Comcast in exchange for the Hulk and Namor film rights to get them to back off.

That's absurd. Sky is many orders of magnitude more valuable than Namor film rights and the right to distribute films titled "Hulk."

 

[Dasher10]

That's absurd. Sky is many orders of magnitude more valuable than Namor film rights and the right to distribute films titled "Hulk."

I fear that Disney will make the exact opposite decision and allow Comcast to sit on the X-Men and Fantastic Four indefinitely. I also can't see Disney allowing Comcast to take control of Hulu or Fox's entire film library. Disney will likely raise their offer to stop Comcast.

 

[Random490]

You have to remember films rights are really small potatoes in this deal. The guys at the top are not concerned about X-men, Fantastic 4, Hulk, or specially Namor. This is a huge merger of companies with millions if not billions on the line. While to us geeks it's the most interesting prospect of the deal, to CEOs and the business world it's a small consequence not worth discussing until the deal is done.

 

[Iceman]

Netflix briefly passed Disney today in market cap before Disney passed it back up again by a hair. Netflix had already passed Comcast earlier in the week. Doing a comparison table between FAANG and the we can see why consolidation and move towards being more tech centric is happening with these old media companies.

Yeah it’s crazy how large the FAANG stocks are now. Most of them didn’t even exist when I was a kid, even Apple existed in a very different form.

 

[Zarex]

You have to remember films rights are really small potatoes in this deal. The guys at the top are not concerned about X-men, Fantastic 4, Hulk, or specially Namor. This is a huge merger of companies with millions if not billions on the line. While to us geeks it's the most interesting prospect of the deal, to CEOs and the business world it's a small consequence not worth discussing until the deal is done.

Film rights, specifically those currently held by FOX, are a huge stinking deal for Disney/Marvel. Getting control over X-Men and FF characters could launch a dozen or so franchises, maintaining the dominance of the world's most successful film series. There's a reason those franchises were featured prominently in the merger announcement.

 

[Spider-Fan]

It's valuable, yes. But not as valuable as assets like Sky that are coming in the deal.