Could Disney be about to acquire Fox?
December 2017
Alex
Alex
In early November, there were rumours that Disney were in talks to buy Fox. Those rumours were then quashed because there was a difference of opinion in price and terms of the deal (initially reported by CNBC and The Wall Street Journal)…fast forward to today and we are in a place where these talks are not just back up and running, but apparently we are due to hear an announcement next week that Disney has indeed bought certain elements of the Fox company from the Murdoch family!
Before we get to the Star Wars impact here (and there could be a huge one) let’s look at what Disney would get…they would be rumoured to be signing a deal for the ‘entertainment’ arm of Fox. This means almost everything apart from the News and Sport components of the Fox Company (Fox News, Fox Sports. etc) as it would be a rival to ABC News and ESPN and probably wouldn’t get past the Competition Commission. |
This that means Disney would get almost everything else, namely Fox’s movie franchise and TV catalogue. A short list of these includes Marvel favourites X-Men, Deadpool and Fantastic Four; not to mention other huge franchises including Avatar, Alien and Planet of the Apes. For TV they would be taking ownership of The Simpsons, X-Files and Modern Family. So this is a huge deal across many fronts, let alone the impact on Star Wars…
You maybe be asking how would this impact Star Wars? Didn’t Disney buy Star Wars already? Yes, Disney did buy Lucasfilm and the Star Wars franchise…except the clever people over at Fox still own the theatrical and physical distribution rights to Episodes I, II, III, V and VI until May 2020 and they hold all distribution rights to Episode IV until the end of time! This has meant a new collection of the movies on DVD/Blu Ray has been unlikely as Fox would have to agree and also take a share of the profits. It would also be unlikely that we would ever see a release of the original cinematic release of the Original Trilogy, ever. Until now…
If we assume this buy goes ahead and the only elements outside of the buyout are News and Sports then Disney will hold the rights to ALL of the Star Wars movies now including Episode IV! From this there are many things Disney could do. First of all, they could do nothing. Star Wars is making a tonne of money for Disney from the box office with the Sequel Trilogy and their stand-alone movies like Rogue One. OR what most fans (including us at The Jedi Council) would love to see, is that they release a HD version of the OT cinematic releases. I know we at the Council would buy them if they came out, and there has long been a hardcore group of fans who have been calling out for these as they don’t like the Special Editions. Of course, upgrading the original cuts (if they still exist?) would cost Disney and there was nothing in the original sale terms that prevents this (Kathleen Kennedy admitted this back in an interview in 2016 at Celebration Orlando).
Here at the Council, we are excited about what this buyout could mean for the Star Wars franchise and what might happen. Stay tuned for more information on this as and when it breaks. We wait for Disney’s next move...
Let us know your thoughts on all Twitter and #mtfbwy
You maybe be asking how would this impact Star Wars? Didn’t Disney buy Star Wars already? Yes, Disney did buy Lucasfilm and the Star Wars franchise…except the clever people over at Fox still own the theatrical and physical distribution rights to Episodes I, II, III, V and VI until May 2020 and they hold all distribution rights to Episode IV until the end of time! This has meant a new collection of the movies on DVD/Blu Ray has been unlikely as Fox would have to agree and also take a share of the profits. It would also be unlikely that we would ever see a release of the original cinematic release of the Original Trilogy, ever. Until now…
If we assume this buy goes ahead and the only elements outside of the buyout are News and Sports then Disney will hold the rights to ALL of the Star Wars movies now including Episode IV! From this there are many things Disney could do. First of all, they could do nothing. Star Wars is making a tonne of money for Disney from the box office with the Sequel Trilogy and their stand-alone movies like Rogue One. OR what most fans (including us at The Jedi Council) would love to see, is that they release a HD version of the OT cinematic releases. I know we at the Council would buy them if they came out, and there has long been a hardcore group of fans who have been calling out for these as they don’t like the Special Editions. Of course, upgrading the original cuts (if they still exist?) would cost Disney and there was nothing in the original sale terms that prevents this (Kathleen Kennedy admitted this back in an interview in 2016 at Celebration Orlando).
Here at the Council, we are excited about what this buyout could mean for the Star Wars franchise and what might happen. Stay tuned for more information on this as and when it breaks. We wait for Disney’s next move...
Let us know your thoughts on all Twitter and #mtfbwy