Disney's Acquisition Of Fox Is "Most Likely" To Close By The End Of Summer 2019 At The Latest
While speaking at a town hall meeting today, 21st Century Fox president Peter Rice revealed that the Disney/Fox deal is not expected to close until the end of summer 2019 at the latest. Check it out!
In December, The Walt Disney Company officially announced their plans to acquire 21st Century Fox's film and television studios and while at the time, it was widely reported that the deal would likely close within 12-18 months, with some remaining cautiously optimistic about it closing before the end of 2018, it now looks like regulators may need the full eighteen-month window before they can approve the merger of two of Hollywood's most storied production studios.
With The Disney/Fox Merger Not Expected To Pass Regulations For 12-18 Months, Here's What To Expect
While speaking at the first of two town hall meetings at the Fox lot earlier today, 21st Century Fox president Peter Rice, in an effort to ease their nerves of his staffers, provided some much-needed updates regarding the coming Disney acquisition.
Even though there was initially some optimism about the deal getting approved before the end of this calendar year, Rice told employees today that the acquisition is more likely to be completed before the end of summer 2019 at the latest, which essentially falls in line with the initial conservative 18-month projection.
OFFICIAL: The X-MEN & FANTASTIC FOUR Are Coming Home As Walt Disney Announces Acquisition Of 20th Century Fox
As far as the X-Men and Fantastic Four go, these new details would seemingly suggest that neither Marvel property will be joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe before 2020/2021, at the earliest, since Marvel Studios is unable to touch any of the characters while the deal is under review. It also helps explains why the currently business-as-usual Fox has been increasingly patient with the development of their upcoming X-Men films, even delaying their two hotly-awaited 2018 releases, X-Men: Dark Phoenix and The New Mutants, to prime dates next year.
With the new timeline, it's not unfathomable to think that we might actually see get to see a combination of the following spinoff films: X-Force, X-23, Kitty Pryde, Gambit, and/or Doctor Doom, go into production long before these characters meet Spider-Man and The Avengers.
So, what do you guys think of this latest development? Sound off with your thoughts below!