At the stroke of midnight, the long-brewing $71 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney was completed – a merger deal sure to shape the future of Hollywood for years to come. As for right now, it’ll take perhaps a few days, weeks, or months for the ramifications to make themselves apparent – but a more immediate change can already be found on the Walt Disney Company website.
The banner at the top of the site now includes a number of Fox properties – most notably James Cameron’s Avatar, The Simpsons, Deadpool, and Guillermo del Toro’s Oscar-winning The Shape Of Water. They’re now sharing space alongside Frozen, Toy Story, Star Wars, and Captain Marvel – oh, and Mickey Mouse himself, obviously. Ryan Reynolds posted his own reaction to the deal – a meme of Deadpool wearing Mickey Mouse ears.
In an update posted on the website, Disney CEO Bob Iger released a very business-speaky statement about the deal: “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 preeminent global entertainment company, well positioned to lead in an incredibly dynamic and transformative era.”
Expect to hear more in the coming weeks about the impact of the Disney-Fox deal – which on the plus side could mean the likes of the X-Men and Fantastic Four joining the MCU, and maybe even de-specialised reissues of the original Star Wars trilogy, but will also involve the redundancies and restructuring that inevitably comes with a merger.
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