Why Disney's Fox Acquisition Might Mean Happier Fans
*By Max Godnick*
Disney may have won the bidding war for 21st Century Fox's prized assets, but if the deal goes through, fans may be the real victors.
"If you're a fan of Marvel, you're going to get the X-Men and the Fantastic 4 back with the Avengers," said Tim Baysinger, a TV reporter for The Wrap, in an interview with Cheddar on Friday. "How can you not be excited about that?"
Comcast, which announced this week it would not pursue its bid for Fox, cleared a path for Disney to complete its $71 billion acquisition of the company's movie studio and various cable channels. That means Marvel Studios, which Disney acquired for $4 billion in 2009, will also re-absorb rights to the "X-Men" and "Fantastic 4" movies, which had been controlled by Fox.
And if Disney's deal closes by next summer, Baysinger said Marvel could be poised to deliver some earth-shattering news at 2019's Comic-Con, an event the studio skipped this year.
"I would not be surprised if, a year from now, \[Marvel Studios President\] Kevin Feige is standing in front of Hall H announcing a Phase 4 slate that could very well include the 'X-Men' and the 'Fantastic 4,'" Baysinger said.
Next spring's follow-up to "Avengers: Infinity War" marks the end of Marvel's third phase in its theatrical release strategy. The studio has been quiet about plans beyond that, but a Fox deal may crystallize things.
It's an exciting prospect, given that critics [panned](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/fantastic_four_2015/) the latest installments of Fox's "X-Men" and "Fantastic 4" franchises, but have been [much kinder](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/avengers_infinity_war) to Disney's superhero fare.
"Marvel knows how to do their characters better than anyone else," Baysinger said.
For the full segment, [click here.](https://cheddar.com/videos/what-the-disney-fox-deal-means-for-fans)
Brian Vendig, president of MJP Wealth Advisors, joined Cheddar News to discuss the market ahead of the Federal Reserve's meeting on Wednesday and as investors digest JPMorgan's takeover of First Republic Bank, which was recently seized by regulators. A slew of earnings are also slated to be released this week as well.
The saga of Adidas' high-profile break-up with Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, continues. Investors have filed a class action lawsuit alleging that executives were aware of Ye's behavioral issues well before Adidas ended its relationship with him last October.
The top financial concern for Americans in 2023 is inflation. Sudha Chandrasekharan, SVP, of Global E-Commerce at Auctane, joins Cheddar News to discuss how this outlook will change consumer spending habits, and why e-commerce is playing a vital role in the economy.
Charlie Munger, vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, told the Financial Times that the U.S. commercial property market is in trouble. “It’s not nearly as bad as it was in 2008,” he said. “But trouble happens to banking just like trouble happens everywhere else.”
Labor strife is coming to a head in the entertainment industry, as the Writers Guild of America (WGA) said it's prepared to strike at midnight Tuesday if it doesn't come to terms with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP).
