21st Century Fox is up for grabs, and it seems that everyone wants a piece of them. From Disney to Sony and even Comcast, we’ve heard that the studio has found many potential buyers, and though no deal has placed just yet, it would seem that things are moving quickly, with Fox said to be making some kind of announcement on the matter by the end of the calendar year. Who they’ll ultimately sell to remains to be seen of course, but if a new report from Bloomberg is to be believed, it might just be the Mouse House.
Again, nothing’s set in stone, but according to the outlet, Disney is the preferred buyer simply because they’re the best fit strategically.
“21st Century Fox Inc., the global film and TV company controlled by the Murdoch family, would prefer to sell some assets to Walt Disney Co. because it’s a better strategic fit and presents fewer regulatory hurdles, people familiar with the matter said.”
So, does this mean that dreams will come true and we’ll finally get one, big shared universe for ALL our favorite Marvel characters? Furthermore, should Star Wars fans start getting excited over the possibility of being able to see the Original Trilogy in its unaltered form in high definition? Maybe, but until those papers are signed and an announcement is made, we’ll refrain from celebrating. Besides, even if Disney were to buy Fox, there’s no guarantee that any of this will happen.
When it comes to throwing the X-Men into the MCU, while it seems like a no brainer, the House of Mouse may not want to rock the boat, as it were. The X-Men franchise is doing quite well right now as is, thanks to the success of Deadpool and Logan, and Disney might be hesitant to start mixing things up by adding the mutants into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Likewise, when it comes to those much desired unaltered cuts of the original Star Wars films, Disney may decide that it’s not worth the money or effort to restore them to the point where they can be released on Blu-ray. Again, it seems like a no brainer for fans, but who knows what the studio will prioritize/do if they end up buying Fox.
For now, all we can really do is wait and see what happens. Still, there’s no denying that this is all very exciting and we’re hoping to have some kind of firm answer on if Fox is going to sell within the next few weeks. As always, watch this space for more.