The Impact of Disney/Marvel Merger

By Peter K. Lam

Disney Acquires Marvel for $4 Billion

I was surprised by the announcement of the Disney/Marvel merger earlier today. It came out of left field. I think many people in the comic book industry had no idea this was in the works. Marvel Entertainment has been doing pretty well with its growing film franchises based on their popular and well-known characters. With the establishment of Marvel Studios to oversee the film production, one would assume that Marvel had no intent of selling their business to another corporation. What’s done is done I suppose. So what does this merger actually mean for Marvel’s business and the fans?

From a business standpoint, Marvel made a smart move. Merging with Disney will only strengthen their brand. Now with Disney as their financial backbone, Marvel will have longevity and the ability to further expand their brand and reach an even greater audience. Disney is a powerhouse and so is Marvel in its own right. Combining their businesses will probably increase overall revenue in the long run for all parties involved.

For the fans, this may be seen as good or bad news. Disney is a very family oriented business developing such projects like Lion King, Snow White, and others. How will a company with this kind of track record deal with inherently violent and gorey Marvel films like Blade and Punisher?

Disney used to own Dimension Films which had the original Scream franchise. One would hope that Disney will once again take a step back and allow creators do their jobs without interference. The worst possible thing would be for Disney to get involved in the creation of the Marvel films and possible screw it all up. If they step back like they did while they own Dimension Films, this merger will be a good thing for everyone. If they do get involved in the creative process for the Marvel films, I fear that the essence of what make Marvel films great will be lost.

It was also reported that current Marvel Entertainment CEO, Ike Perlmutter, will continue to oversee operations after the merger. This is a good sign in my eyes. Hopefully this means that Disney will allow Marvel to operate pretty much as it always has but now with a powerful financial backing that was missing before.