Avatar, Die Hard, X-Men, and Alien are now under the same roof as Marvel, Star Wars, and Pixar.
Just after midnight, heading into Wednesday morning, Disney closed the $71 billion acquisition deal to buy 21st Century Fox.
This will effectively put any and all of the movies, TV, video games, etc. currently owned by Fox under the Disney banner.
To put that into context, this will include the franchise rights to Avatar, Die Hard, Alien, Predator, Independence Day, Deadpool, X-Men, Ice Age, Planet Of The Apes, Kung Fu Panda, and many more.
On the TV end, it will include The X-Files, National Geographic, Family Guy, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, 24, Modern Family, and, of course, The Simpsons.
The ultimate goal, aside from the potential future merging of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, will be for Disney to launch their new streaming platform service, Disney+, with a library big enough to present some very real competition to Netflix.
Robert Iger, the chairman and chief executive officer of the Walt Disney Company, issued the following statement about the merger:
“This is an extraordinary and historic moment for us – one that will create significant long-term value for our company and our shareholders. Combining Disney’s and 21st Century Fox’s wealth of creative content and proven talent creates the pre-eminent global entertainment company, well-positioned to lead in an incredibly dynamic and transformative era.”
This also brings about the era of the “Big Six” Hollywood studios, with just Disney, Warner Brothers, Universal, Paramount, and Sony Pictures now remaining.
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