Disney in talks to buy Fox. What could this mean for Alien and Predator?

[𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔈𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱𝔥 𝔓𝔞𝔰𝔰𝔢𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔯]

20th Century Studios' Diminished Future: "I Don't Think the Label Means Anything Anymore"

As Emma Watts exits, Disney's former Fox unit will now be the home to some adult dramas and prebranded remakes, plus Hulu or Disney+ titles and four 'Avatar' sequels.

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After leading a major studio, Watts realized she couldn't stomach the diminishment in power and autonomy that came with running a pared-down fiefdom within Disney, sources close to her tell The Hollywood Reporter. The executive's departure also is a blow to Hollywood's small sorority of female studio executives. Rare among majors, Fox had boasted a deep bench of powerful women in its upper ranks. In the wake of the merger, Watts joins former 20th Century Fox chairman Stacey Snider, former Fox 2000 chief Elizabeth Gabler and former Fox marketing chief Pamela Levine out the door.

Under Disney, 20th will now release about four movies a year theatrically, down from as many as six or seven, and focus equally if not more so on making content for Disney+ and Hulu. Fox's Marvel movies, such as Deadpool, now fall under Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige's purview. For Watts — who worked closely with Ryan Reynolds in bringing the Deadpool series to the big screen and also was behind the larger X-Men franchise — this meant handing over some of her prized projects.

Watts and Scott always had a very close working relationship. Aside from her involvement with Alien: Covenant and it's proposed sequel, she managed to get the controversial "The Last Duel" past the Disney execs as well:

"Since the merger closed, Watts had persuaded her bosses, Disney Studios co-chairmen Alan Horn and Alan Bergman, to forge ahead with Ridley Scott's tentpole The Last Duel."

[426Buddy]

Yeah I would say this about seals the fate of Alien/Predator in film.

Maybe they will sell the rights some day.

[Nukiemorph]

They specify a focus on brand names and streaming content. I still don't see why a streaming movie/series couldn't be in the cards.

[Voodoo Magic]

Yep, I 100% agree and believe that is exactly what they're going to do.

[Nukiemorph]

Also, someone is getting paid to keep making social media posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram - complete with edited short videos. It's not a lot, but it shows that Disney/20th is paying somebody to keep the brand in the public consciousness. Should that give us some hope? Or am I overthinking it?

[𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔈𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱𝔥 𝔓𝔞𝔰𝔰𝔢𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔯]

I wonder if Disney is even aware of the Alien Anthology accounts? 20th Century Fox was quite the juggernaut. Bits of it may yet continue to live on without the host.

[Voodoo Magic]

Also, someone is getting paid to keep making social media posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram - complete with edited short videos. It's not a lot, but it shows that Disney/20th is paying somebody to keep the brand in the public consciousness. Should that give us some hope? Or am I overthinking it?

Maybe.

But the way I see it, they paid a boatload of money for these franchises. I absolutely expect Dis-weyland to turn these and others into revenue generating properties ASAP, most likely via Hulu streaming.

[The Old One]

Yeah, I think you're right.

[SM]

Yeah I would say this about seals the fate of Alien/Predator in film.

Maybe they will sell the rights some day.

Nah they'll always come back to it.  Might take a little longer for Predator.

[The Old One]

We'll see I guess.

[Corporal Hicks]

I wonder if Disney is even aware of the Alien Anthology accounts? 20th Century Fox was quite the juggernaut. Bits of it may yet continue to live on without the host.

Nah, it's someone new. Or I'm just full on being ghosted. I used to talk to the guy who ran those accounts and I've not heard from him since the merger.

[SM]

All the old crew's gone.

Someone's doing a decent enough job with the socials.

[Voodoo Magic]

I'm still believing the new A & P home will be Hulu...

Hulu targeting 2021 for international rollout, says Disney CEO

"Disney+ might be Disney's streaming priority right now, but rolling out Hulu to international markets is still a primary goal, with the company aiming for a 2021 date.'

"Hulu's generated quite a bit of news recently, starting with CEO Randy Freer announcing he was stepping down. The move comes in the wake of Disney announcing that Hulu leadership would now report to Disney's direct-to-consumer division, which is overseen by Kevin Mayer. The goal with the reorganization is to help "rapidly grow our presence outside the US," according to a company press release put out Friday. Iger and Disney executives first started talking about bringing Hulu to global markets in 2018, after the company secured majority ownership of the streaming service."

https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/4/21123168/hulu-international-2021-disney-plus-streaming-bundle-rollout

[Corporal Hicks]

Disney Invites Game Developers to Tell Original Stories With Popular Franchises

Sean Shoptaw, senior vp games and interactive experiences at Disney, on Wednesday gave an update on the studio's new approach to gaming, emphasizing original storytelling and "reimagining" classic characters and settings.
Disney is opening its vault to leading video game creatives.

Sean Shoptaw, senior vp games and interactive experiences at Disney, on Wednesday gave an update on the studio's new approach to video game licensing at the 2020 DICE Summit at the Aria Convention Center in Las Vegas.

"I'm here for one specific reason: to empower you to do really unique things with our [catalog]," the exec told the crowd of game developers. "We want to tap into the power of creatives across the industry."

Citing recent examples such as EA and Respawn Entertainment's Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, 2019's sixth-best-selling title, and 2018's Marvel's Spider-Man from Insomniac Games, which was the fastest-selling first-party title in Sony's history with 3.3 million units sold in its first three days (it has since gone on to sell over 13 million copies), Shoptaw stressed the importance of original storytelling and "reimagining" what Disney characters and settings could be.

The Disney exec extended an invitation to game developers in the room and throughout the industry to "come and play" with its extensive catalog of franchises, which now include many 20th Century (formerly 20th Century Fox) properties such as Avatar and Bob's Burgers, among many others.

[Voodoo Magic]

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