Disney and Fox Deal On-Track to Finalize Earlier Than Expected
Initial reports on the Disney-Fox deal expected it to wrap by the first half of Summer 2019, but now a newer report suggests that Fox could be welcomed into the Disney stable as soon as the first day of next year. As Doctor Strange said in Avengers: Infinity War, we’re in the endgame now.
Per Variety, 21st Century Fox President Peter Rice, who will now take a leading position in Disney-Fox’s TV division, claims that the landmark deal could be ready on a structural level as soon as January 1, 2019. Layoffs for the companies going from “New Fox” to Disney are expected, as they would be with any company that would have purchased the company in this landmark deal. Rice is of the belief that the acquisition of Fox will play out similarly to how Disney acquired Pixar, Marvel Studios, and Lucasfilm, keeping the internal cultures of these companies intact while ensuring that each can receive the funding necessary to get their projects made.
The deal has already been approved in the United States, and it just needs to be greenlit in a number of overseas regions in order to be finalized. One thing that could be a snag in Disney and Fox’s plans is if the European Union announces a move to halt the deal. However, given that an executive has made a public statement suggesting that the deal will wrap so soon, it’s likely that they don’t anticipate any such problems. In any case, the corporate structure for after the merger happens is already coming together quite effectively, and although some regulations are still expected to require approval from certain bodies before the merger is completed, it will be complete by either March or April of next year.
As far as what this means for Marvel, one should expect Dark Phoenix and The New Mutants to be the final two releases from under the Fox banner, and for most other projects to be either completely reworked or to never see the light of day. X-Force, being a spin-off of the ever-popular Deadpool series, will likely be the exception, although it should be made under Marvel Studios now. That won’t necessarily make it a Marvel Cinematic Universe movie, nor will it compromise the film’s intended R-rating.
Grant Davis is a freelance writer who has covered entertainment news for more than seven years. His articles have frequently appeared in Star Wars News Net as well as as other entertainment-related websites. As someone who grew up on Star Wars and comic book movies, he’s completely thrilled with the current era of genre entertainment.
