Is Marvel’s famed webslinger swinging into the Mouse House? All signs point to “go,” as both companies announced today that Disney has purchased Marvel Comics for $4 billion.
What will this mean for Marvel’s comics–and its upcoming slate of movies? Only time will tell, but Disney’s hands-off relationship with Pixar is promising. During a conference call this morning, Disney expressed faith in Marvel’s knowledge and savvy about their vast stable of characters and properties, which points to Disney letting Marvel do what it does best–so the Punisher won’t be petting bunnies and singing about friendship any time soon.
This is not the first time Marvel has changed hands. The company was acquired by New World Entertainment in 1986, and then sold to MacAndrews and Forbes in 1989, before going public in 1991 and then bankrupt in 1996. Since then, Marvel has concentrated on diversifying its offerings and rebooting classic franchises like Spider-Man, the X-Men, Fantastic Four, and more. The company has also seen great success in the movie business, with its X-Men trilogy of movies grossing more than $1.5 billion worldwide, and Iron Man raking in more than $585 million total.
Stay tuned for more developments as they happen, and make sure to check out the latest releases from Marvel!
How do you feel about this latest development? What changes do you see happening? Post your comments below!
