It’s official: After weeks of will-they-won’t-they speculation, Disney confirmed today it has acquired a huge chunk of 21st Century Fox’s entertainment assets, including most of its film and TV studios.
In the wise words of Mickey Mouse, “Oh boy!”
We have already covered what this entails for the future of Marvel movies, but Fox isn’t only about its superheroes. They will also gain exclusive rights to a list of major movie franchises they can choose to expand, as well as some classics they can choose to reboot.
With the exception of X-Men, Fantastic Four and Deadpool, here’s some of Fox’s other major franchises Disney now owns, and what they will probably do with them:
James Cameron’s Avatar is the biggest property outside of Fox’s Marvel properties. Currently the highest-grossing film of all time, Disney’s deal also allows them to incorporate the vast world of Pandora into its Disneyland theme parks. With the auteur now hard at work for a planned four sequels, the soon-to-be franchise will create even more avenues for brand expansion.
After this year’s sequel grossed nearly $400 million worldwide, Disney will most likely proceed with a third film. Although the opportunity presents itself as very lucrative, Fox’s Kingsman franchise may prove to be a potential hurdle that may force them to rethink its family-friendly style of production as it does not exactly align with their ‘clean’ image.
Speaking of not safe for work, the troubled Alien franchise is another enigma Disney has procured. Alien: Covenant was a disappointment and the future of the series looks rather bleak, but that does not necessarily signal the end of the sci-fi horror, though it will certainly not be on their list of top priorities.
On the other hand, the Predator franchise will soon be given the breath of life by director Shane Black (Iron Man 3, The Nice Guys) in an upcoming sequel that is said to be a reimagination of the series. Disney will want to adopt a wait-and-see approach before making a decision on these extra-terrestrials.
The rebooted Planet of the Apes franchise has proved to be both a critical and financial hit for Fox, but it’s unclear what Disney might do with the property since it recently wrapped up the trilogy with War of the Planet of the Apes. A possible fourth film was being discussed, but that was before the acquisition. Regardless, there’s still plenty of fuel left in the tank, and it would be a huge shame if the story ends here.
Fox’s long-running yellow family has not seen the light of a projector since 2007’s wildly successful The Simpsons Movie, it’s one and only big screen adaptation. Now that Disney’s in the picture, exploring the vast universe of the Simpsons and creating a bevy of movies seems like the most logical (and profitable) choice.
And finally, we have Home Alone, the bedrock of every 90s child’s memories. Timeless and congruous to its identity, there’s no way Disney will ignore the potential of the franchise and will most likely attempt a reboot as soon as the ink dries.
Other franchises bubbling under the surface include Night at the Museum, Percy Jackson, Die Hard, Ice Age, Alvin and the Chipmunks and The X-Files.
Photocredit @ 20th Century Fox
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