The Walt Disney Company has inked themselves a pretty sweet deal. For only four billion dollars, they get to own all of Marvel Entertainment! Yep, it's true. Disney has agreed to buy Marvel; which both companies' boards have approved, so all that's left is approval by Marvel's shareholders. Getting the approval of shareshoulders shouldn't be much of a hurdle, seeing as they will stand to receive $30 for every share they own in the deal, or a 29% premium.

Marvel had this to say on the deal:

"This transaction combines Marvel's strong global brand and world-renowned library of characters including Iron Man, Spider-Man, X-Men, Captain America, Fantastic Four and Thor with Disney's creative skills, unparalleled global portfolio of entertainment properties, and a business structure that maximizes the value of creative properties across multiple platforms and territories," said Robert A. Iger, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company. "Ike Perlmutter and his team have done an impressive job of nurturing these properties and have created significant value. We are pleased to bring this talent and these great assets to Disney."

Disney's take below:

"Disney is the perfect home for Marvel's fantastic library of characters given its proven ability to expand content creation and licensing businesses," said Ike Perlmutter, Marvel's Chief Executive Officer. "This is an unparalleled opportunity for Marvel to build upon its vibrant brand and character properties by accessing Disney's tremendous global organization and infrastructure around the world."

So what's this doing here at MMORPG.com? Well, besides this being ginormous news, there is the revived Marvel MMOG project being developed over at Gazillion Entertainment to consider. Anyone looking forward to fighting Mysterio as Mickey Mouse?!

Do you think this deal will have any significant impact on Marvel franchises from a consumer's standpoint? Or more specifically, do you think this news will affect the development of the Marvel MMOG? Let us know what you think in the comments below!

But what will this mean for long standing mature characters in the Marvel universe like The Punisher?

They will buy MArvel, but im sure Disney is not going to interfere in anything about MArvel products and publishings, Disney will just have the financial profits of the company

Originally posted by tryklon

They will buy MArvel, but im sure Disney is not going to interfere in anything about MArvel products and publishings, Disney will just have the financial profits of the company

Pretty much.

i hope they more or less leave marvel alone. i enjoy marvels heroes, and their movies are FINALLY starting to get really good.

disney movies on the other hand >_>.

i do wonder what it will do for the marvel mmo if anything.

i expect they will sell some of the more pg marvel comics at disneyland / world now. maybe some new rides based off of heroes from marvel.

Hmm.  Goofy, with a vengeance. Interesting. Good (and profitable) deal. Now Disney has something for the younger folk, and for their mature audience. But I have to raise an eyebrow when they begin inviting the producers of the Saw movie series to the dining table :P

I expect a donald duck / howard the duck crossover and soon . lol .

i doubt disney will interfere much in the way Marvels run . It would be great though if they brought down the prices to aim the comics more at children again . Marvel was a big part of my life growing up i ve a great affection for the characters but prices spiralled up in the 80s turning comics from a mass medium to a cult medium which is a shame .

Maybe disney will make them affordable again .

I future Kingdom Hearts sequel with ol Wovie, Capt and ol Tinhead possibly? Or a Marvel MMO funded with Walt's coffers? Thank you sir, may I have another!?

Can't wait for the upcoming Marvel rides at Disney Land!!!

and the Disney Zerglings absorb even more matter into it's collective.  /mourn

Prepare for X4, starring Miley Cirus as Boom Boom, Selina Gomez as Jubilee and the dad from Wizards of Waverly Place as Cable (well, atleast my kids are happy about the merger.........)

Originally posted by Ramonski7

I future Kingdom Hearts sequel with ol Wovie, Capt and ol Tinhead possibly? Or a Marvel MMO funded with Walt's coffers? Thank you sir, may I have another!?

When I read the news that was the first thing I thought of. Kingdom hearts will be pretty amazing this next go round.  

Wonder how they'll use this in the parks in disney world?  Universal has their islands of adventure park that houses some of the best marvel themed rides... I wonder if Disney gets to go over there and steal them now?

Originally posted by blackthornn

and the Disney Zerglings absorb even more matter into it's collective.  /mourn

 

Prepare for X4, starring Miley Cirus as Boom Boom, Selina Gomez as Jubilee and the dad from Wizards of Waverly Place as Cable (well, atleast my kids are happy about the merger.........)

Sadly enough, I don't see how much worse the Xmen movies could get...  they've just gotten increasingly worse... the spider man movies to...    lets pray favreau keeps directing Iron Man or else we may not have any good marvel movies left.

A nice kid friendly xmen mmo like toontown or pirates wouldn't be to bad.  Putting pixar on a marvel animated movie would be very interesting as well. 

in the short term? Nothing really will change.

Remember Gargoyles and Power Rangers are Disney IPs.

In the long term seem them shooting toward T then PG-13 and then PG.

Death will become even bigger a joke, as will injury of any kind

and lesser know characters will vanish into the ether

again like Gargoyles and Power Rangers.

Something just as a point of intrest, in Marvel comics and Marvel based Champions Online if this sell makes it  through all the legel hoops. 

That is no navel!

Note from back cover of MGM dvd movie  "Beach Blanket Bingo"/"How to Stuff a Wild Bikini".

"Annette Funicello, under contract to Disney, was allowed to make the beach party mivies under one cndition..that she never show her navel."

Just think back and see how many times you have seen an product, movie or drawing that shows a navel in it.  I can not think of much except maybe a swim seen in the Highschool Musical movies.

Originally posted by Daffid011

A nice kid friendly xmen mmo like toontown or pirates wouldn't be to bad.  Putting pixar on a marvel animated movie would be very interesting as well. 

 

 

Although Pixar and Disney have contracts, Pixar decides all the movies and scripts to do. So nothing like that would happen. And Pixar has shown Disney before that they've got no problem kicking Disney out of their business, when they seperated from them and then Disney realized it couldn't make movies and begged them back, so I doubt Disney would even push for it.

I'm always weary of when one large company buys something else. Things always change at least a little. Sometimes the changes are small and insignificant, other times they completely alter or destroy a product.

So put me on the doubtful that this is a good situation list.

 I find it really hard to believe that Marvel will let Disney come in and just change the way they are doing things. This was Marvel's 70th anniversary this year, that is 70 years of a fanbase. I couldn't imagine them just turning their back on all of that. I don't expect much to change from the consumer side of things.

 No No No No No No No No No No No times Infinity! Enough said.

Disney has enough as it is. All the good ideas Marvel has ever made would be "Kiddy-fied". Brrrrr! Gives me the shivers.......

 I do understand that Marvel has made some family friendly ideas, but Disney is know for stuff like that. Marvel is know for action packed comics and superheroes.

Originally posted by SnarlingWolf

Originally posted by Daffid011

A nice kid friendly xmen mmo like toontown or pirates wouldn't be to bad.  Putting pixar on a marvel animated movie would be very interesting as well. 

 

 

 

Although Pixar and Disney have contracts, Pixar decides all the movies and scripts to do. So nothing like that would happen. And Pixar has shown Disney before that they've got no problem kicking Disney out of their business, when they seperated from them and then Disney realized it couldn't make movies and begged them back, so I doubt Disney would even push for it.

 

I'm always weary of when one large company buys something else. Things always change at least a little. Sometimes the changes are small and insignificant, other times they completely alter or destroy a product.

 

So put me on the doubtful that this is a good situation list.

Can't really disagree with you.  I would really like something good to come out of this, but I have to be realistic that mergers don't always work like that.  

Maybe I should have said giving pixar the opportunity to do a marvel animated movie.  They could hardly do worse than the last several marvel movies.

Originally posted by Daffid011

Originally posted by SnarlingWolf

Originally posted by Daffid011

A nice kid friendly xmen mmo like toontown or pirates wouldn't be to bad.  Putting pixar on a marvel animated movie would be very interesting as well. 

 

 

 

Although Pixar and Disney have contracts, Pixar decides all the movies and scripts to do. So nothing like that would happen. And Pixar has shown Disney before that they've got no problem kicking Disney out of their business, when they seperated from them and then Disney realized it couldn't make movies and begged them back, so I doubt Disney would even push for it.

 

I'm always weary of when one large company buys something else. Things always change at least a little. Sometimes the changes are small and insignificant, other times they completely alter or destroy a product.

 

So put me on the doubtful that this is a good situation list.

 

Can't really disagree with you.  I would really like something good to come out of this, but I have to be realistic that mergers don't always work like that.  

Maybe I should have said giving pixar the opportunity to do a marvel animated movie.  They could hardly do worse than the last several marvel movies.

I really don't think Disney will really try a "merger" although I do think they will persue joint ventures. I think Disney understands what made marvel so popular in the first place, as they did with pixar, and thats a formula they haven't really changed, so I don't know if they'd plan on changing much with marvel.  I like both companies, so I don't really see a big problem.

Disney would have nothing to gain by Disneyfying Marvel. I think they want to expand their portfolio, so it is only logical to leave Marvel as it is. Still, it kinda strikes me that Marvel looses its independency to another comic creator, and such a big and different one.

One can only hope it hearalds the making of some cool Marvel based movies.

A Jack Sparrow meets Wolverine crossover, prolly. LOL.. ok just kidding. XD

Lol, I gotta vision of some reaaaaally weird new Kingdom Hearts Games... FF meets Disney meets Marvel...

Nah, what they said, Disney just probably gonna get the cash and let Marvel be Marvel for the most part.

Originally posted by tryklon

They will buy MArvel, but im sure Disney is not going to interfere in anything about MArvel products and publishings, Disney will just have the financial profits of the company

yeah disney aint that stupid. Everyone saying they will ruin marvel is just speculating the worst that could happen.

There goes the neighborhood!! Wolverine meets the Little Mermaid, Mulan vs Ghost Rider, The Punisher hunts Aladdin!

Disney also owns Touchstone, Miramax, Hollywood Pictures, ABC and ESPN. Nothing with those companies have changed. Touchstone still makes non G-rated movies, like Kill Bill.