Disney CEO Bob Iger shares their plans for the roster of popular properties that the House of Mouse is poised to acquire once their deal to buy Fox is finalized. Rumors of a merger involving two of the largest Hollywood studios had been going on for quite a while before it was officially announced back in December. Despite the delay due to Comcast’s last-ditch effort to foil the merger and close the deal for themselves, the historic buyout is finally moving forward with legal proceedings expected to be finished sometime next year.

Part of the massive TV and movie assets of 21st Century Fox that will be handed over to Disney via the deal include IPs like The Simpsons and Avatar, the Star Wars films released prior to The Force Awakens, and of course the separated Marvel properties such as X-Men and Fantastic Four. The move is part of Disney’s efforts to beef up their catalog of shows and movies for their in-development streaming service tipped to launch next year. Now, Iger finally offers some insight as to what their plans are with regard to these properties.

During Disney’s third quarter 2018 financial results conference call (via The Motley Fool), Iger shared their plans for the countless high-profile properties that they’ll be gaining once the Fox merger is finalized. “20th Century Fox Film is yet another example. It gives us the opportunity to be associated with and to expand iconic movie franchises like Avatar, Marvel’s X-Men, The Fantastic Four, Deadpool, Planet of the Apes, Kingsman, and many others,” he told the company’s investors.

This is a good indication that Disney is planning to continue what Fox has started with regard to some of their successful franchises. One of people’s main concerns about the deal was the possibility of the House of Mouse watering down Fox’s edgier properties to fit their family-friendly portfolio. Based on Iger’s comments, it seems like they’re looking at these new properties as a way to diversify their brand, which somehow addresses that issue. Of course, the public won’t know whether or not Disney’s handling of these IPs will be for the better, but at least it appears like they have a good idea of what to do with them.

As for Marvel properties such as X-Men, Fantastic Four, Deadpool and all their tie-in characters, the creative responsibility to incorporate them in the MCU rests on Kevin Feige’s shoulders. The Marvel Studios’ president remains tight lipped about his plans for the mutants. While there’s a good chance that they’ll retain the continuity established in the Deadpool series considering its success, it’s more likely that they’ll opt to reboot both the X-Men and Fantastic Four in order to better suit their own canon.

Iger, however, didn’t address issues of the possibility of countless people losing jobs over the merger and understandably so considering the nature of the meeting. This means that people working at Fox whose jobs are threatened by the deal will sadly have to wait a little while longer to learn whether or not they’ll be carried over to Disney. While it’s not been confirmed, huge company buyouts like this normally lead to layoffs in order to prevent additional cost, which is one of the biggest worries that industry people have with the looming sale.

More: How Avengers 4 Can Add X-Men To The MCU Retroactively

Source: The Motley Fool

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