Thanks to the Wall Street Journal, we have some additional insight into what Disney might be planning after the purchase of Fox is complete. There are definitely some big changes that will be coming to Fox, but as of right now everyone at the studio is supposed to just be moving forward as if nothing is happening.
“Fox is obligated to keep acting as if it will survive, people who work at the studio say, which means making movies and developing new ideas with no certainty as to what Disney will end up doing with them.”
That obviously can’t be easy to do because people are going to lose their jobs in the process of this merger.
A lot of fans have been wondering if some of the changes will affect the films that Fox is currently developing. The recent reports says that Disney has plans to release any movies from the studio that are completed or in the middle of production when Disney’s acquisition is complete. That means you can expect all those Marvel films in production to be released like X-Men: Dark Pheonix and The New Mutants.
The site then goes on to say something interesting and a little disheartening. They report that the studio is going to scale back on certain film projects that don’t fit Disney’s family-friendly MO. The report says:
“Fox’s movie studio is expected to be significantly downsized once the deal is complete. Disney will likely take over Fox’s two biggest film franchises, Avatar and the X-Men, and scale back production of costly movies that don’t fit its family-friendly, franchise-focused formula, people close to both companies have said.”
Now, it doesn’t say that they are canceling all movies that aren’t family-friendly, just the costly ones. In case you’re worried about Deadpool and X-Force, Disney CEO Bob Iger already said that they were safe.
“It [Deadpool] clearly has been and will be Marvel branded. But we think there might be an opportunity for a Marvel-R brand for something like Deadpool. As long as we let the audiences know what’s coming, we think we can manage that fine.”
They better not change their minds on that! It would totally suck if they did and the fans will riot! Up until now, there’s just a been a lot of talk about what is going to happen. Once the deal is 100% then we are going to learn the true nature of what Disney is intending to do.
In the end, I just hope that they bring in great talented filmmakers to develop great film projects. I also hope that many of them are original! Fox Searchlight Pictures has played a huge role in providing audiences with edgy and original content, thankfully, there are no plans to change what they are doing. Bob Iger recently said:
“We have every intention once the acquisition is approved to maintain the business of Fox Searchlight. We think they’re in the business of making high quality films. We don’t have any plans right now to change what they do. Frankly, we think they’re doing just fine.”
That’s good to hear because Guillermo del Toro plans on making a lot of movies with them! Remember, they are the company that produced The Shape of Water.
What are your thoughts on this latest update in regards to what is going to happen when Disney’s Fox purchase is complete?