Last week, Disney finally acquired a large majority of Fox in a $50 billion+ deal after months of rumors. Disney will now gain control of major film properties such as the X-Men (which includes Deadpool), Fantastic Four, Avatar, Alien, and much, much more.
The deal has caused some concern for many as Disney is known for having a formula that works well for them with movies like Star Wars and the Marvel films. There’s been some question as to whether Disney will take risks like Fox did with movies like Logan, Deadpool, the upcoming The New Mutants, and more and whether Disney is even willing to dedicate time and money to franchises like Alien.
One person concerned about the future of films is Logan director James Mangold but he isn’t really worried about those properties in particular, he’s concerned that this means a lack of original films, ones that aren’t sequels or part of established brands. Speaking to Deadline, Mangold voiced his worries for the future of films and seems to believe that Disney’s monopoly is limiting the variety in Hollywood.
“If they’re actually changing their mandate if what they’re supposed to do alters, that would be sad to me because it just means fewer movies. … The real thing that happens when you make a movie rated R, behind the scenes, is that the studio has to adjust to the reality that there will be no Happy Meals. There will be no action figures. The entire merchandising, cross-pollinating side of selling the movie to children is dead before you even start. And when that’s dead, it means you’re making a grown-up movie.”
It’ll be interesting to see how Disney approaches everything they hold under their umbrella going forward. They’ve already stated Deadpool will remain R but does that mean we will see risky movies like Logan? It may be too soon to say.
