AVENGERS & X-MEN Assemble! Disney's Acquisition Of Fox Is Expected To Be Made 100% Official This Thursday
News of a possible merger between Disney and 21st Century came out of nowhere but the deal finally looks set to be finalised this Thursday meaning that the X-Men will join the MCU sooner than expected...
CNBC reveals that Fox and Disney are on track to announce a merger this Thursday. That's much sooner than most of us expected (despite reports that talks have been going well) and while an exact amount still hasn't been revealed, it's thought that the company will be paying upwards of $60 billion for 21st Century Fox's television and movie studios. So, where do things go for Fox from here? That's not clear.
What we do know is that it's going to take time and it's been said over the past few days that 20th Century Fox may continue to exist as a separate company just like Pixar, Marvel Entertainment, and Lucasfilm (albeit with Disney in charge). That could still lead to a reduction in Fox's output but there are two franchises they're very excited to get their hands on; those are obviously Avatar and X-Men.
The former already has a presence in Disney's theme parks but merchandising is expected to increase dramatically and the plan is still for James Cameron to forge ahead with those sequels. As for the X-Men, there's a very good chance they'll become part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe at some point in the next couple of years but what that means for X-Men: Dark Phoenix and other Marvel movies Fox has in development isn't clear. Kevin Feige reportedly remains keen on getting his hands on them.
What do you guys think about this news? As always, let us know your thoughts in the usual place.