Comcast Officially Bows Out Of Fox Race Leaving Disney Free To Acquire The X-MEN And FANTASTIC FOUR
Well, the X-Men, Fantastic Four, Deadpool and countless other film and television properties! Regardless, Comcast is officially out of the race and Disney is now free and clear to acquire 21st Century Fox.
Well, this is some well-timed news with Comic-Con in full swing! It's been confirmed today that Comcast has officially bowed out of its bidding war with Disney to acquire 21st Century Fox's assets as the cable giant instead sets its sights on landing European satellite TV giant Sky. That means Disney is now free and clear to purchase the studio and add a huge number of franchises to its massive fold.
"Comcast does not intend to pursue further the acquisition of the Twenty-First Century Fox assets and, instead, will focus on our recommended offer for Sky," the company said in a statement today. Brian L. Roberts, Comcast CEO, added: "I’d like to congratulate Bob Iger and the team at Disney and commend the Murdoch family and Fox for creating such a desirable and respected company."
While the Disney/Fox merger still needs to be finalised, this means the X-Men and Fantastic Four characters are pretty much guaranteed to arrive in the Marvel Cinematic Universe at some point in the next few years. That makes this shared world bigger than ever and ensures that Kevin Feige and company will be telling stories for not just another decade but probably a good two or three more!