Disney on Thursday announced that it would acquire much of 21st Century Fox for $52.4 billion, meaning that top franchises like “X-Men, “Deadpool” and “Fantastic Four” will fall under the Disney umbrella — and fans are rejoicing at the reunion of the Marvel characters.
“If you people haven’t realized it yet, the single best part of Disney’s acquisition of Fox is that both the FANTASTIC FOUR and X-MEN movie franchises Will be folded into the Marvel Cinematic Universe,” tweeted one fan. “In other words, we could finally get GOOD X-MEN MOVIES.”
“Life is good,” another tweeted, while a third fan of the acquisition said, “The X-Men and Fantastic Four are home.” The film rights to Marvel Comics have been divided up for quite some time, meaning that Marvel couldn’t bring some of the characters they created into the cinematic fold.
On Thursday, Disney officially acquired much of 21st Century Fox for $52.4 billion in stock, with the mammoth deal closing after more than a month of talks. Both companies have enjoyed a healthy stock bump recently, with Disney jumping about five percent, while Fox has run up 12 percent.
The buyout infuses the Mouse House with a bevy of Fox properties, including its film and TV studios and much of its non-broadcast television business, including FX, regional sports networks and Nat Geo, among other channels. Properties like “X-Men,” “Fantastic Four” and “Deadpool” will return to the Marvel family at Disney, alongside “Avatar” and “The Simpsons.”
“The agreement also provides Disney with the opportunity to reunite the ‘X-Men,’ ‘Fantastic Four’ and ‘Deadpool’ with the Marvel family under one roof and create richer, more complex worlds of inter-related characters and stories that audiences have shown they love,” the official statement read.
The acquisition has some industry experts predicting to TheWrap it makes Disney the “most powerful company” in Hollywood.
See reactions to the news below.
I never thought I'd see the day the X-Men and Fantastic Four rights went to Marvel Studios. pic.twitter.com/Qrk8FUbO7E
— Brandon Davis (@BrandonDavisBD) December 14, 2017
If you people haven’t realized it yet, the single best part of Disney’s acquisition of Fox is that both the FANTASTIC FOUR and X-MEN movie franchises Will be folded into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
In other words, we could finally get GOOD X-MEN MOVIES
— Scott Robbins, The Guy who Drew The Blockhams (@TheBlockhams) December 14, 2017
https://twitter.com/CX2DAD/status/941225066460794880
Disney: We've completed the purchase of 20th Century Fox
Me: *imagines X-Men, Fantastic Four, Deadpool, Avengers, and Guardians of the Galaxy on screen at the same damn time* pic.twitter.com/A95efLh1qu
— Spectacular Spoiler League (@HallofSpoilers) December 14, 2017
https://twitter.com/ashtonknapp/status/941305855940710400
https://twitter.com/yaboy_neutron/status/941330195344216064
https://twitter.com/ruffalosfluff/status/941286817592000513
Kevin Feige when he heard he can now use the X-Men and Fantastic Four in the MCU: #Disney #Fox pic.twitter.com/QeVAwW0A2L
— Josh Thomas (@JoshThomas1994) December 14, 2017
This means we could see X-Men and Fantastic Four in the MCU 😭 pic.twitter.com/MwmUWzIVUI
— Yup. (@loaferskid97) December 14, 2017
https://twitter.com/MackTheHooligan/status/941312857999859713
https://twitter.com/holloser/status/941290949010952193
The X-Men and Fantastic Four are going to Marvel. We’re finally getting the Fantastic Four movie we deserve. Storm and Black Panther can be together. Life is good. pic.twitter.com/F8l0fAyDWF
— Giselle (@itsgissel) December 14, 2017
https://twitter.com/_BeatrixKiddoo/status/941298447172493314
Welcome back home X-Men and Fantastic Four pic.twitter.com/W5cVHwRzKp
— John Lee (@leejkp) December 14, 2017
Disney now has a monopoly on most of the entertainment/media industry. But they've acquired the rights for the X-Men and Fantastic Four in the MCU so I guess it's all worth it
— Blerds Online (@BlerdsOnline) December 14, 2017
I know it’s not always a good thing that Disney buys everything but fuck, it’s nice to see X-Men and Fantastic Four back at Marvel Studios.
Now give us the F4 movie we deserve 🙌🏻
— becka (@cryptid_entity) December 14, 2017
The X-Men and Fantastic Four are home.
— Dylan | TheBrickPal (@RealBrickPal) December 14, 2017