With Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox‘s entertainment assets, most fans have been focused on the fact that the Fantastic Four and X-Men are both now owned by the same company that owns Marvel Comics and Marvel Studios. While no announcements have been made regarding it, there is now the possibility that all of those characters could inhabit the same world, the way they do in the source material.
But the Fox acquisition includes a hell of a lot more than just the Fantastic Four and the X-Men. Here’s a sampling of the other properties Disney now has under its banner.
Alien: ‘Alien: Covenant’ seems to have proven that this franchise needs to take a rest, but it appears plans are already underway for yet another one, whether anyone other than Ridley Scott wants it or not. (Of course, with this deal, things could change.) I suppose one upside is that if Disney decides to send the X-Men into space, they can battle actual xenomorphs and not The Brood, their comic book knockoffs.
Avatar: Forget X-Men and Fantastic Four! THIS is the true win for Disney. ‘Avatar’ remains one of the top-grossing movies of all time, outpacing even the ‘Star Wars’ properties. Plus, ‘The World of Pandora’ was recently opened in Disney World, with plans to add more ‘Avatar’ attractions to other Disney parks. Plus there’s the fact that James Cameron is busy at work on several sequels that will hopefully perform close to as well as the first.
Doctor Dolittle: This franchise has been dormant for quite some time, but it seems tailor-made for the Disney touch. A reboot about a physician who can communicate with animals from the House of Mouse could be a huge hit.
Independence Day: The sequel, ‘Independence Day: Resurgence’ was not a resurgence in popularity, but perhaps Disney can reboot it. The brand still has potential.
The Martian: Okay, so that was probably a one-and-done hit, BUT Andy Weir, who wrote the source novel, is working on a new book, ‘Artemis’ which is a murder mystery set in a lunar colony, which Fox had the film rights to. After the success of ‘The Martian’, Disney is sure to cash in on the potential hit with ‘Artemis’.
Night at the Museum: – Like ‘Doctor Dolittle’, these movies were family crowd-pleasers. Enough time has passed that Disney could reboot this with a new cast of stars.
Percy Jackson – This one may need to rest a bit, but perhaps Disney could capture the magic of these YA books the way that Fox failed to. Then again, Disney is sometimes weak in its adapted properties. The ‘Chronicles of Narnia’ movies fizzled pretty quickly before all of the books in that series could be adapted. Maybe a TV show on Disney’s new streaming service would work better.
Planet of the Apes: This franchise needs a nice long break, but perhaps in several years (or decades) it will be time for a reboot.
Predator: There is already another sequel in the works, ‘The Predator’. There is the potential that there could be many more.
Star Wars: A New Hope: I know what you’re thinking, but the very first ‘Star Wars’ was actually financed by Fox and they continued to hold distribution rights for that single installment. Now Disney owns ‘Star Wars’ outright.
The X-Files: This is just one of dozens of television properties that now fall under Disney’s domain. Pretty much everything on FOX and FX is now part of the Disney empire and could surface exclusively on Disney’s upcoming streaming service.
In addition to these, Disney has now acquired certain franchises that would seem to be a great fit. ‘Alvin & The Chipmunks’, ‘Home Alone’ and ‘Ice Age’ are proven family brands that could benefit from Disney’s golden touch in that area. The studio has also acquired action brands that could either carry on as is or be rebooted, such as ‘Die Hard’, ‘Kingsman’ and the upcoming ‘Red Sparrow’, starring Jennifer Lawrence, based on a series of books by Jason Matthews. Disney also now possesses Fox’s extensive back catalog which includes another Cameron behemoth ‘Titanic’.
What properties would you like to see Disney take a stab at reinvigorating?
