From Avatar to Xenomorph, here’s what Disney should do with the characters from 21st Century Fox.
Update 03/20/2019: It’s official, Disney has acquired most of 21st Century Fox for $71.3 billion. I wrote this over a year ago, but we’re still hoping for all of it!
After weeks of rumors and speculation, it was announced earlier this month that The Walt Disney Company will purchase 21st Century Fox’s film and television studios for a cool $52 billion, meaning the Mouse House will soon own (even more) beloved characters of the big and small screen.
As with any geek, we’re super excited by the possibilities of this deal, specifically in regards to a certain bunch of mutants joining the MCU. However, there’s a number of other movies, crossovers, and theme park opportunities we’d love to see, so let’s count them down.
10. Make Us Excited for Avatar Sequels
Avatar is the biggest movie in the world. This is something I often forget, and I imagine millions of other people do too. It came out nearly a decade ago, and since then, The Avengers, Jurassic World, and Star Wars have almost knocked Jake Sully off his box office pedestal, and dominated the pop culture conservation for a greater stretch of time (well maybe not Jurassic World). As Avatar 2 gears up for a 2020 release (maybe), we hope Disney will be able to build hype and provide guidance for James Cameron’s ambitious future of the franchise. Remember, there are four planned sequels. I can’t say I look forward to watching an Avatar movie in theaters for four consecutive years, so hopefully Disney can help change that.
9. Disneyland Sells Bort License Plates
Alright Universal Studios Florida already kind of does this, but it needs to happen at the happiest place on earth.
8. X-Men is Rebooted…Eventually
The Fox X-Men series ended with Logan. Or at least it should have. Later next year we’re getting X-Men: Dark Phoenix, another film set in the James McAvoy/Michael Fassbender timeline. After the horrid cinematic apocalypse aptly titled X-Men: Apocalypse, we’re feeling a little burnt out on X-Men. Don’t get me wrong, if the version of Wolverine, Cyclops, Jean and the rest of the gang that will most likely show up in the MCU are more inline with the collaborative team we’ve seen in the comics of yore, I’m all in. However, it’s time for Charles Xavier’s students to take a break. Maybe a couple of years, maybe a few, but I think being reintroduced to new versions of these characters later rather than sooner would help build hype, and separate them from their long-running and ready to retire Fox counterparts.
7. Fantastic Four Join the MCU ASAP
Whenever Marvel Studios finally reveals the Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase Four lineup, don’t be surprised to see a certain team on that slate. The Fantastic Four are in desperate need of public-perception makeover after the slimy booger that was Fant4stic, and there’s no better way of doing that than introducing them into the MCU. I don’t care if Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, and Thing have already been active in the MCU like Spider-Man, or if it’s another origin story, but this classic team deserve a good movie, as soon as possible.
6. Alien Ride at Disney Hollywood Studios
Ok picture this: You and a ride vehicle full of Hollywood Studios guests are touring LV-426 long after the events of Aliens. The ride vehicle slowly creeps along the moon’s surface as the android tour guide recounts the Xenomorph attack that transpired years ago, but ensures guests that the alien threat has been exterminated. The ride vehicle enters a facility towards the end of the tour…and then the lights go out. Everything shuts down. Guests are in complete darkness and wonder what is going on. Did the ride shut down? No. This is part of the ride. In total darkness, the riders hear a terrifying screech. They see a horrific figure scurry about as the lights begin to flicker back on. It’s clear what it is now: a Xenomorph; coming for you. Guests are panicking, but the tour guide hits the emergency escape button on the vehicle, trigger an high-speed chase à la Test Track.
Ever since the closing of ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter and the recently departed Great Movie Ride, Disney World has been in dire need of a scary, alien-themed attraction, and what better way than through Alien itself.
5. The Simpsons Finally Ends
I love The Simpsons. I’m sure many of you do. It embiggened our senses of humor and has given us hours upon hours of cromulent entertainment. However, it’s time. It’s been time for a long time. The Simpsons doesn’t mean what it used mean, nor is it now what it used to be. One could argue all day over exactly where the show experienced its most prominent drop in quality, but that’s not the point. The show’s been on television for nearly three decades; it’s just time.
4. Home Alone World in Kingdom Hearts 3
Taking place entirely within the McCallister home, Sora and the gang must team up with Kevin to defeat the Wet Bandits. You set traps, drop an iron on Marv’s head, and at one point Goofy accidentally falls off the roof.
Alright, just kidding. Instead, how about a Pandora world. That would be pretty cool.
Or an Anastasia one.
“In Soviet Russia, Door to Light unlocks you!”
3. Deadpool is Left Alone
Deadpool actually happened. Not just the movie actually getting made, but it actually being a gory, gratuitous, baby-hand-on-dick motion picture event. This R-rated juggernaut was a huge success, and no doubt Disney wants to get in on the action. However, we hope that for the most part Deadpool remains the same. Not just the adult-oriented shenanigans, but also keeping the Merc with a Mouth separate from established continuities, MCU or otherwise. Would we love to see Deadpool and Tom Holland’s Spidey team up? Or Tony Stark and Wade Wilson face off in a snark competition? Absolutely, but Deadpool’s fourth-wall-breaking abilities and tone just wouldn’t mesh well with the rest of Marvel…buttt yeah it would also be the greatest thing ever if he’d cameo in an Avengers movie.
2. Doctor Doom is the Next Big MCU Villain
Look up any “Greatest Comic Book Villain of All-Time” list. You know who’s always at the top? Victor von Doom. Why? I couldn’t tell you. He’s been an iconic comics villain for years, but he hasn’t made an impact outside of panels. Sure, we’ve gotten two versions of the character in movies that range from angry weirdo to gross angry weirdo, but now’s the time to make Doom an actual threat, and there’s no better way than the MCU. Specifically, as the next big threat. Thanos is gearing up to be a terrifying cosmic threat, and even though Galactus could be really cool, we hope Marvel Studios uses Doom as a more human and intimate foe who can strike fear into the Avengers on earth.
1. Original Unaltered Star Wars Trilogy Finally Releases
This one’s complicated. Fox retained the distribution rights to Stars Wars: A New Hope even after Disney purchased Lucasfilm back in 2012. However, it is widely assumed Disney will gain complete ownership of this film, and thus the entire franchise as a whole, once this deal goes through. But here’s another However: we still don’t know if that means we’ll ever see the original, unaltered Star Wars trilogy in official, HD format anytime soon.
But lets back up. In 1997, Lucasfilm released The Star Wars Trilogy Special Edition. This golden, glimmering VHS boxset added a number of changes to the special effects, dialogue, and inadvertently, some characterization and plot of the original trilogy. These changes have led to extensive criticism and bashing of George Lucas, and among other things, the phrase “Han shot first.”
For many fans, myself included, Star Wars Special Edition is the only version of the original trilogy we know. Because of its unavailability, outside of a rare DVD set, the original unaltered trilogy has never had a modern high definition home video release, and instead, a Blu-Ray set with even more unnecessary changes. (Cue the NOOOOO!!!)
We understand why Lucas wanted to make the Special Edition. We even have a soft spot for some of the more puzzling additions (I’d watch an entire “Jedi Rock’s” rock opera). But, hopefully, now’s the time. Hopefully Disney will preserve history, choose not to further rewrite it, and give longtime fans the gift they’ve always wanted.
Anything we missed? Let us know, and I for one welcome our new Disney overlords!
