Related Sections: Comics Conventions Movies News Top Stories
D23: 5 good signs about the Disney-Marvel merger
News of Disney's acquisition of Marvel might have inspired nightmares of a Mickey vs. Hulk spinoff or out-of-work actors dressing as Wolverine for the Electrical Parade. But Walt Disney Co. president and CEO Bob Iger put those worries to rest when he spoke about his company's acquisition of Marvel studios today at the D23 Expo in Anaheim, Calif.
In his opening address at the first annual Disney fan convention, Iger's brief Marvel-related comments offered promise for the merger of the two behemoths. At a press conference later in the afternoon, Iger expanded on Disney's plans for Marvel and respect for the legacy they've already established.
1) Marvel stays Marvel. Paying homage to "The Mouse"'s tendency to water down material for its family audience, Iger addressed the big worry. "There will be no Disneyfication of Marvel," he said in a press conference. He added that Marvel will continue to work independently. "We plan to keep Marvel as an entity and to respect both the talent that is there, working as one, and also respect what Marvel is and what the essence of Marvel is."
2) It's all about story and character. Twice in his address, Iger referred to the characters and storytelling in the Marvel universe. Later, he added that the studio behind Captain Jack Sparrow and Donald Duck recognizes good fictional talent when they see it. "It's a business we're very familiar with," Iger said. "Well-known characters and weird stories and a product that transcends gender and age and geographic territories."
3) For now, no Tony Stark's Haunted Mansion. During his morning address, Iger touted the possibilities of Disney's global resources to expand and tie in with Marvel. Later, he specified that Disney will respect previous Marvel deals. For example, Universal theme parks currently run Marvel-themed rides. Also, studios like Fox and Sony still distribute franchises like X-Men and Spider-Man, respectively. "There are also some legacy agreements that Marvel has in a variety of ways, to the theme park with Universal, to the distribution of the live-action films," Iger said. "So until some of these things work their course, or until we get a better sense when the deal closes, there isn't much planning that can be done until we reach an agreement."
4) Pixar is paving the way for Marvel. Remember when Disney thought they could do without Pixar? They were going to make their own version of Toy Story 3 and everything. Then they realized that only Pixar is Pixar. Well, same with Marvel. Iger even brought in John Lasseter to help him make the case to Marvel. "There is a whole culture attached that was a huge part of their success, and I didn't want to do anything that messed with that culture," Iger said. "I had John Lasseter [talk to Marvel] with me and then without me, so that he could talk to them more about Disney. He gave them some perspective on that, and it was very positive."
5) As Hannah Montana says, "It's the best of both worlds." Rather than harp on potential conflicts, edgy subtext vs. lucrative merchandising, etc., Iger focused on the potential for pooling Marvel and Disney resources. They already travel the same ground in creating story and characters for movies, television, literature and more. "When you look at it as a part of the Walt Disney Co., the presence of Marvel is virtually in everything that we're in," Iger said. "You can expect that over time, that's what you will see. We became impressed with the talent of Marvel as we got to know them better."
By Robert at 9:37 AM ON 09/11/09
And you're off your rocker. You cannot combine these two without destroying the one or both of them. Disney is a horrible place and their record of 'white'washing every story they get their hands on speaks for itself. This world is not some cottoncandy happily ever after that Disney shoves down our throat and Marvel knew this. It was a damn fool who even thought up this merger and it was a complete and utter moron who approved it.
Nothing good will come of this!
By Darth Touma at 9:40 AM ON 09/11/09
LIAR!!!...
LOL
By ArcAngel at 10:20 AM ON 09/11/09
Robert your out of your mind WB bought DC years ago and neither was destroyed both actually have done better so get a grip with your paranoid delusions
By Robert at 10:58 AM ON 09/11/09
I'll ignore your obvious short comings and point out what you failed to get in your own comparison. The WB and DC were not mutually exclusive. Anyone who can tell the difference between an apple and an orange knows why Disney and Marvel do not mesh.
By TJ9000 at 12:03 PM ON 09/11/09
I'm sure somebody else will point this out as well, but WB never bought DC. Both were acquired by the same company over 40 years ago. Check out the history here. It's pretty interesting.
http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2009/09/03/comic-book-legends-revealed-223/
It's the second legend at this link, though the first one is pretty fascinating too.
By Uwaine at 12:57 PM ON 09/11/09
I'm fairly confident that we will not see any shake-up of Marvel, as caused by Disney trying to "family-friendly" their content.
After all, Disney owns ABC network, and they were the ones who brought us Lost and Desperate Housewives. Neither of those shows can be describes as lighthearted Disney standards.
And as a side-note to TJ9000's comment: If anything, under the way the article he quoted described it, The company which owned DC bought WB!
By cspears162 at 1:43 PM ON 09/11/09
While I can sympathize with the fears and disbelief that have been expressed, I have to say that I believe that the merger can prosper. I'm not by any means educated on all the ins and outs of major corporations and their finances, but I've gotten the feeling for years, through various news reports and articles, that Marvel has always had monetary difficulties of some sort or another. On the other hand, Disney has never really been short of cash, but rather short of popular ideas with a few obvious exceptions. My theory is that Disney saw the popularity of the current comic to movie trend and saw an opportunity in Marvel. They stand to profit quite a bit by financially backing the huge treasure trove of Marvel products. Marvel also benefits by having the huge coffers of Disney to pull from to see their projects develop. We all know that money drives most everything, so why wouldn't Disney offer to leave Marvel's creativeness alone as long as they stand to profit from it eventually? I for one will remain optimistic and hope that everything works out for everyone involved, ESPECIALLY for us, the fans.
By Theocrat at 2:21 PM ON 09/11/09
Hi all -
'In his opening address at the first annual Disney fan convention..."
There is no such thing as a 'First Annual' event. The right words are 'Inaugural' event, because it can't be an annual thing until you've proven it.
By Imagica at 5:33 PM ON 09/11/09
Disney will ruin Marvel we all know that who do they think they are fooling?
In five years we will be seeing the Mickey Mouse vs Hulk comic
By Gill Avila at 11:35 PM ON 09/11/09
At least we won't see any crossovers of Disney funny animals in live-action Marvelverse---unless they do a "Roger Rabbit"--type project. OMFG!! What if somebody decides to do a Donald Duck / Howard the Duck Team-up?
By hitoshura0 at 7:03 PM ON 09/12/09
Down with Disney! All hail 4Kidz!
By kryptoniteman at 2:35 AM ON 09/13/09
I can see it now:
KINGDOM HEARTS: ATTACK ON ASTEROID M
Magneto, master of magnetism has gained control of the Hearless in a bid on his war against humanity, and for total domination of not just his world, but ALL worlds.
Join Sora, Donald, and Goofy as they revisit familiar friends like Ariel, Aladdin, and characters from the FInal Fantasy franchise. Guide our heroes as they travel to more new worlds and join forces with brand new allies like Spider-Man and Captain America against new foes like The Mandarin and Stilt-Man!!!
waitaminute--that might not be so bad. Then again...
By Mac at 10:04 AM ON 09/13/09
To clarify something that a poster said:
(1) WB bought DC. - Not the other way around.
(2) Disney does own a network, which is running mature content.
By Raymondjram at 1:11 PM ON 09/14/09
Well, being a Goofy fan since the early 50's, I would like to see him play the Bruce Banner part and turn big and green , and get even with Mickey, for once...
By Gambit1985 at 6:02 AM ON 10/29/09
It's all opinin when it comes down to it. But if they mix the two in any one project with both sides I wouldnt buy the stuff.....NEVER!!!
Visit mobile.syfy.com/wire on your mobile device.
Gambit1985:
It's all opinin when it comes down to it. But if they mix the two in any one project with both sides I wouldnt buy ...More »