Marvel and Disney Merger Official
Posted 12.31.09 by Ryan
The merger between Disney and Marvel Entertainment was made official today after stockholders gave their approval. Marvel believes the merger will close by the end of the business day today.
Since the merger was announced, comic book fans have been nervous about what this might mean for Marvel properties such as the upcoming The Avengers or First Avenger: Captain America, even after Disney promised the merger would not cause a "Disneyfication" of Marvel's properties.
Meanwhile, it appears that Stan Lee was correct in thinking that Disney will look to explore almost all Marvel characters, including Ant-Man and Doctor Strange. Peripheral characters may even get a test run on a Disney cable network such as Disney XD before getting a big screen adaptation. "Instead of making a $200 million movie and kind of betting the farm on one character, you can develop a television pilot, a television series," Disney Chief Robert Iger told the Associated Press.
Can Marvel avoid "Disneyfication" while its characters are appearing in a TV show on a Disney network? Comic book fans will have to wait and see.