The Rebooted "Keep Hope Alive" (that the rights can revert back to Marvel) Thread - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Part 24

[Dark Raven]

I am seeing this mentions the stake in Hulu. Any chance their stake in the Hulk's distribution was included?

It would be dumb if they don't go for this and Namor rights too, plus theme park rights.

 

[ADollarADay]

I am seeing this mentions the stake in Hulu. Any chance their stake in the Hulk's distribution was included?

I mean it'll be brought up if DIS and CMCSA get on the table to talk about trading assets, but anything outside of RSNs, Hulu, and Sky are not priority.

The Marvel rights that Comcast owns and Dreamwork rights that Fox owns will be brought up since they are talking about other things, but these are small potatoes. I feel fairly confident if there's an asset trade, then Hulk (and Namor? not sure if there'd be anything outstanding with him) will be 100% back home. This is a theoretical trade I posted on another thread:


Comcast gets:
- 39% of Sky (valued at 15.1B given 17.28 bid)
- Maybe a couple of RSNs that Comcast has shown interest in (each RSN is close to at least 1B in value, some significantly higher like YES)
- VOD distribution rights to all Dreamworks films

Disney gets:
- 30% of Hulu (valued at 2.4B as per the latest Disney SEC filings regarding the Fox acquisition)
- Outstanding Marvel rights (Namor, Hulk, Theme park rights in Orlando, usage of Marvel name in theme parks)
- Distribution to Disney movies in EU that Sky currently has the rights to
- Cash

The main problem here is what is the cash amount that both parties would agree to.

I honestly don't think Disney values theme park rights in Orlando, Marvel name for theme parks, and Namor + Hulk movie rights all that much. It's a nice cherry on top and that's it. Not sure how much they value the distribution rights that Sky has for Disney movies and when those expire, but I'm guessing it's not that valuable either. The one thing that they'd value here is Hulu 30%.

This also means Disney will have an uphill battle in Europe as they'll have to enter their DTC market there with Hulu, DisneyPlay, and ESPN+. None of those exist or a known there. It'll take a lot of capital and work to gain a foothold there.

One final note on theme park in Orlando. If both sides do agree to a deal the most likely scenario will be an amendment to the contract with an expiration date and removal of exclusivity. Marvel land at IoA won't close overnight. They'll probably have the contract expire in 10-15 years and during that time both parties can use the Marvel characters (Disney would use the MCU ones whereas Universal would keep with what they have). Universal would probably want to get out sooner though.

 

[Dark Raven]

I wonder if getting Hulk and Namor back would shift the phase 4 slate much? Probably not since Ruffalo is nearing the end of his run. Namor in BP2 tho...This opens up so many doors.

I prefer him in Fantastic Four. But they could also do a Namor movie too. Don't know how it would do compared to Aquaman.

 

[Spider-Fan]

In regards to the Hulk's distribution rights, does anyone know if that include TV Shows? I ask because since Marvel Studios is venturing into the realm of TV now on their streaming service, might that be a possible loop hole?

 

[ADollarADay]

In regards to the Hulk's distribution rights, does anyone know if that include TV Shows? I ask because since Marvel Studios is venturing into the realm of TV now on their streaming service, might that be a possible loop hole?

Unknown, but it seems like Marvel owns it:

Guillermo Del Toro And David Eick To Create New 'Hulk' TV Series For ABC And Marvel

I would like to see an MCU Hulk origins mini series (6 episodes).

 

[Darkprime]

My one worry about Universal giving up Hulk is remember they didn't want to play ball with Marvel on doing another standalone movie so marvel had to spread hulks arc across several films. If they are open to the idea of selling the rights they are going to make Disney pay for it. It wont be cheap and it will be something ridiculous probably twice as much as Hulk is really worth. Hopefully Disney see the long term value of Hulk since his positive reception in Avengers in 2012. They probably missed their window for a ruffalo standalone Hulk but recast him with someone good intro him in Avengers 5 maybe then do a standalone movie.

 

[Spider-Fan]

Unknown, but it seems like Marvel owns it:

Guillermo Del Toro And David Eick To Create New 'Hulk' TV Series For ABC And Marvel

I would like to see an MCU Hulk origins mini series (6 episodes).

I would love to see a Hulk series. If that is a loop hole that is doable, then I hope they make one. I don't know if I agree on making an origin, though. It would be cheaper, sure. But I sort of would like to see them tackle the Leader and give us some closure to him. Though granted, cost would be an absolute worry if this were to be done. I'm guessing if this were considered, it would have to be 6 episodes (maybe less) to maximize the budget for each episode.

 

[ADollarADay]

My one worry about Universal giving up Hulk is remember they didn't want to play ball with Marvel on doing another standalone movie so marvel had to spread hulks arc across several films. If they are open to the idea of selling the rights they are going to make Disney pay for it. It wont be cheap and it will be something ridiculous probably twice as much as Hulk is really worth. Hopefully Disney see the long term value of Hulk since his positive reception in Avengers in 2012. They probably missed their window for a ruffalo standalone Hulk but recast him with someone good intro him in Avengers 5 maybe then do a standalone movie.

Right now Hulk is but a small addendum. There are billions of dollars at stake and Disney does not have to sell the 39.14% of Sky they will own. Comcast wants it all in house. As I mentioned above, anything outside of RSNs, Hulu, and Sky are but small details.

I would love to see a Hulk series. If that is a loop hole that is doable, then I hope they make one. I don't know if I agree on making an origin, though. It would be cheaper, sure. But I sort of would like to see them tackle the Leader and give us some closure to him. Though granted, cost would be an absolute worry if this were to be done. I'm guessing if this were considered, it would have to be 6 episodes (maybe less) to maximize the budget for each episode.

CGI has gotten cheaper, but not cheap enough to do The Hulk right over 6 hours. I prefer an origin stories as we'd get Ruffalo there and a bit of the Hulk. Plus we finally get the MCU version on how that happened within this universe.

That said I'm not against having a mini series that shows what happened to The Leader and Abomination either. Or She Hulk.

 

[Spider-Fan]

CGI has gotten cheaper, but not cheap enough to do The Hulk right over 6 hours. I prefer an origin stories as we'd get Ruffalo there and a bit of the Hulk. Plus we finally get the MCU version on how that happened within this universe.

We sort of got it in TIH though. It's brief, but between exposition and the montage at the beginning, we sort of got the gist of what happened. But yes, the Hulk's cost is definitely the main concern in even considering a show for him.

 

[Dark Raven]

Getting Hulk back would allow for the proper place to introduce Wolverine into the MCU. Both would support each other in case Hulk can't carry the movie on his own or people are bored of Wolverine and want something fresh. This would be a way to kill two birds with one stone.

 

[Fallen]

@Spider-Fan, your avatar looks pixelated.

HQ:

___________

https://forums.superherohype.com/categories/eternals.861/

OK. Where is the Black Widow subforum?

 

[Dark Raven]

@Spider-Fan, your avatar looks pixelated.

HQ:

___________

https://forums.superherohype.com/categories/eternals.861/

OK. Where is the Black Widow subforum?

Is there even a director for Black Widow?

We know though that just getting a director doesn't mean it's all a go. Lots of films get directors then lose them. Masters of the Universe is one in particular.

 

[Fallen]

Is there even a director for Black Widow?

We know though that just getting a director doesn't mean it's all a go. Lots of films get directors then lose them. Masters of the Universe is one in particular.

Yep.

'Black Widow' Movie Finds Director in Cate Shortland (Exclusive)

Cate Shortland - Wikipedia

 

[HBarnill]

I hope Disney never gets Florida theme park rights. Super Hero Island is one of the best themed areas in theme park history. It looks like you did enter into their NYC. I love the Hulk coaster, and the Spider-Man ride is one of the greatest of all time. I don’t want any of those to go away.

 

[Zarex]

Superhero Island has its charm, but it was wildly outdated when I visited nearly 10 years ago, and looks awful in comparison to immersive environments like Pandora, Harry Potter and Galaxy's Edge. It is in desperate
need of a refresh due to its 90s era aesthetic, but is unlikely to get it due to the rights arrangement. Hopefully the Marvel Land going into California Adventure will do Marvel the right way and convince the powers that be to bring Marvel to WDW.

 

[HBarnill]

Superhero Island has its charm, but it was wildly outdated when I visited nearly 10 years ago, and looks awful in comparison to immersive environments like Pandora, Harry Potter and Galaxy's Edge. It is in desperate
need of a refresh due to its 90s era aesthetic, but is unlikely to get it due to the rights arrangement. Hopefully the Marvel Land going into California Adventure will do Marvel the right way and convince the powers that be to bring Marvel to WDW.

You say “outdated”, I say comic book. Sure, it’s not as “immersive” as those mentioned but those come from fantastical worlds. Marvel has always been real world with fantastical elements in them, so it fits. Disney will only make the lands look like the MCU, which isn’t a bad thing, but I prefer the more real world settings of Super Hero Island. And the agreement was that Universal couldn’t make new rides for the area but I’m sure they could update it to reflect modern sensibilities, given they updated Spider-Man. They seem to like it the way it is, and so do I.

 

[Raiden]

What I'd like to know is, how come it takes so long for Disney to finally make Marvel rides in their Disneyland Resort? They're not bothered by the rights that Universal held for the Super Hero Land that prevents Disney World to build their own, but Disneyland Resort has no such conflict. And California Adventures would have gotten much bigger and more popular had Disney capitalized on Marvel's huge appeal years ago, so when Infinity War came out they would have reaped the rewards.

 

[BaronZemo]

The only thing that has me worried about D'Onofrio potentially showing up as Kingpin in the films is they'd would tone his character down to fit in the MCU. Making him less angry and throw in more humour. I like MCU humour but it would not suit Netflix kingpin at all.

The vast majority of MCU villains aren't humorous at all so i have no idea why you think that. Is this the common misconception that everyone in the MCU quips despite the fact that 90% of the villains and the majority of heroes aren't really jokey?

 

[Raiden]

The vast majority of MCU villains aren't humorous at all so i have no idea why you think that. Is this the common misconception that everyone in the MCU quips despite the fact that 90% of the villains and the majority of heroes aren't really jokey?

Iron Man:
Obsidian Stane
Whiplash
Justin Hammer
The Mandarin

Captain America:
Red Skull
The Winter Soldier
Alexander Pierce
Baron Zemo

Thor:
Loki
King Laufey
Malekith
Algrim
The Grandmaster
Hela

GOTG:
Ronan
Korath
Nebula
Yondu
Ego

Ant-Man:
Darren Cross
Sonny Burch
Ava/Ghost

The Avengers:
Loki
Ultron
The Black Order
Thanos

I've tried to come up with all the villains in the MCU, and only 3 I found can be considered as "comedic". Some may argue about Loki, but I don't think he's funny tbh. Same with Yondu.

Btw, both Yondu and Nebula were used as villains in the first GOTG, but not the second.

 

[Iceman]

A big budget Hulk mini-series could be great.

 

[Raiden]

I'm glad that Bob Iger came out and said that Kevin Feige will oversee the X-Men properties instead of separating them from MCU; that's the right call.

 

[Willie Lumpkin]

You say “outdated”, I say comic book. Sure, it’s not as “immersive” as those mentioned but those come from fantastical worlds. Marvel has always been real world with fantastical elements in them, so it fits. Disney will only make the lands look like the MCU, which isn’t a bad thing, but I prefer the more real world settings of Super Hero Island. And the agreement was that Universal couldn’t make new rides for the area but I’m sure they could update it to reflect modern sensibilities, given they updated Spider-Man. They seem to like it the way it is, and so do I.

I can't imagine Universal wants to put much effort into updating an area that is so limited by a contract with a competitor and that promotes that competitor's product rather than a Universal product.

We typically look at this from Disney's point of view, but from Universal's point of view, I'd want to expand the Jurassic Park area through the toon and Marvel area or at the very least retheme the Marvel rides to something different.

If I were Universal I'd jump at the opportunity to not only move on, but actually get something from Disney out of it.

 

[ADollarADay]

These are foreign regulators that need to approve the deal, if required:

European Union
Australia
Brazil
Canada
China
India
Israel
Japan
Mexico
Russian Federation
South Africa
South Korea
Taiwan
Turkey
United Kingdom

I can't imagine Universal wants to put much effort into updating an area that is so limited by a contract with a competitor and that promotes that competitor's product rather than a Universal product.

We typically look at this from Disney's point of view, but from Universal's point of view, I'd want to expand the Jurassic Park area through the toon and Marvel area or at the very least retheme the Marvel rides to something different.

If I were Universal I'd jump at the opportunity to not only move on, but actually get something from Disney out of it.

Disney is not gonna overpay for those rights, so it depends how much they want for it. This possible asset swap is the best chance Disney will have to get those rights back for the foreseeable future though.

 

[Lilbaz]

My one worry about Universal giving up Hulk is remember they didn't want to play ball with Marvel on doing another standalone movie so marvel had to spread hulks arc across several films. If they are open to the idea of selling the rights they are going to make Disney pay for it. It wont be cheap and it will be something ridiculous probably twice as much as Hulk is really worth. Hopefully Disney see the long term value of Hulk since his positive reception in Avengers in 2012. They probably missed their window for a ruffalo standalone Hulk but recast him with someone good intro him in Avengers 5 maybe then do a standalone movie.

They are doing the mavel characters series for their streaming channel. I wouldn't be suprised to see a hulk/she hulk one done. Wont have to pay distribution for that.

 

[Zarex]

What I'd like to know is, how come it takes so long for Disney to finally make Marvel rides in their Disneyland Resort? They're not bothered by the rights that Universal held for the Super Hero Land that prevents Disney World to build their own, but Disneyland Resort has no such conflict. And California Adventures would have gotten much bigger and more popular had Disney capitalized on Marvel's huge appeal years ago, so when Infinity War came out they would have reaped the rewards.

There are restrictions on use of the Marvel characters that don't exist with other Disney properties. For example, Disney can't use the term "Marvel" in promoting the new land being built at CA. Also, there are use restrictions in both Orlando and Japan, so Disney can't spread the cost amongst multiple properties as they are currently doing with Galaxy's Edge.

With the Sky ownership settled, Iger and Roberts have to work out a deal. So there's a chance some of this mess gets worked out.