Recent insider news cited by CNBC hints of the possibility of a merger, or acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Walt Disney Co. According to the report, though some sources say that the media giants are currently not talking at this very moment, previous discussions about the acquisition of the former has been happening under tight secrecy. The talks have been said to have taken place during the past few weeks, with no clear indication that will reach a deal.
However, the same sources have clarified that the buyout will not involve the entire assets of Fox, but only ‘portions’ of it. It is not clear as of the moment what these portions are but one thing is certain: if Disney has set its eyes on Fox, then that means it is primarily interested only those parts of Fox that will add value to its already existing production assets. As CNBC notes,
“For Disney, the opportunity to take control of another movie studio and significant TV production assets as it readies a direct-to-consumer entertainment streaming offering is attractive as is Fox’s significant exposure to international markets, such as the U.K., Germany and Italy — both through its networks and 39 percent ownership of Sky. Disney recently announced it will pull all of its movies from the Netflix platform and will establish two direct-to-consumer offerings: one for sports and one including its key franchises such as “Star Wars” and Marvel.”
Undoubtedly, Disney’s acquisition of prime titles such as Star Wars and Marvel has proven very lucrative to say the least. With the MCU and Star Wars seeing more films in the next 3 to 5 years, the company needs to expand its offerings beyond what the current franchises offer. Needless to say, a deal that could see film rights for iconic titles such as that of the X-Men and Fantastic Four transferred to Disney, will positively boost the roster and reach of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe.
Now the big question remains, especially on this side of LEGO Marvel Universe: will we eventually see the X-Men and Fantastic Four superhero teams in their actual LEGO forms? Will these dream sets finally become a reality for thousands of fans of the LEGO Marvel Superheroes theme? The prospect of seeing these sets centered around the X-Men timeline is something to look forward to. True enough, we have a couple of LEGO Marvel sets that are not based on the current MCU timeline, such as Spider-Man: Daily Bugle Showdown (76005), Wolverine’s Chopper Showdown (6866), and X-Men VS The Sentinel (76022) that features unique minifigures characters tied with the X-Men and Fantastic Four, i.e. Dr. Doom, Wolverine, Cyclops and Storm. But having Disney buying the cinematic rights for all of them, only means that LEGO may likewise have more room to expand its LEGO Marvel Superheroes theme.
Then again, bear in mind that these are just speculations that will be left hanging until we see clearly the direction that these media giants will take in the very near future. So what do you think brick fans, are you looking forward to see more LEGO X-Men sets? How about the Silver Surfer, or the Fantastic Four? Do you think this buyout of Fox by Disney will eventually happen? Share what you think in the comments below.
Thanks to Screen Rant for the heads up.
