Disney Audition call suggests Doctor Strange appearance at Walt Disney World

tl77Sep 23, 2016

Umm... I'm just going to disagree with you on that because the Marvel rights in Orlando are a lot more valuable to Disney than they could ever be to Comcast, but probably not as valuable as you're estimating... but with merchandising ect. Disney could make a lot with it. Comcast/Universal's biggest problem is finding an IP to fill the hole in their park that selling off Marvel would create, I'm sure they were hoping World of Warcraft would have been a bigger hit for them, because a movie based on an internet game produced by a movie studio/theme park company that is owned by an internet-cable provider? ...There's some much corporate synergy there that I'm sure even Bob Iger is probably impressed

FigmentJediSep 23, 2016

The original RKO Kongs belong to Turner/Warner as they acquired those films when they bought out RKO's studio library. Universal got a Kong license at some point in the 60s, which had some connection to the Toho films, but Dino DeLaurentis was looking to get remake rights from RKO in the 70s, resulting in a legal battle between him and Universal, which eventually ruled that the Kong story was in the public domain with the original novelization having slipped away, but Universal and DeLaurentis reached some agreement to share profits or something and Universal planning to do their Kong remake a few years after Dino's that never got off the ground. And Dino DeLaurentis's film was indeed distributed by Paramount Pictures. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Kong#Legal_rights Another thing to consider: When Toho was seeking to remake King Kong vs Godzilla in the 90s, they went to Turner to reach a licensing agreement but they demanded too much money and they shut down Toho's attempts at doing it with Mecha-Kong from their King Kong Escapes film because it was deemed too similar to Kong, which resulted in the Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla remake in 1993. It's amazing how legally complicated the history of what basically amounts to a giant gorilla is. At least when Toho sues people for infringing on the Godzilla copyright (and believe me, the only thing scarier then Disney's lawyers are Godzilla's), they can actually say that their character has a distinctive look and demeanor.

ford91exploderSep 23, 2016

Comcast will NEVER sell the rights to Marvel in Orlando, I should never say never I can imagine them ALLOWING WDW the right to use MCU characters at WDW but I would expect the pricetag to be in the hundreds of millions to low billions. The failed takeover is too raw at Comcast to ever give anything to Disney.

Matt_BlackSep 22, 2016

Certainly the lawyers do, which is why they make sure that Milne is properly credited in those Tsum Tsum shorts.

Jon81ukSep 22, 2016

Baymax is sort of closer to a Disney Animation character than a Marvel one really. Nobody really thinks of Winnie the Pooh, the A A Milne character.

MagicHappens1971Sep 22, 2016

Baymax returned to Epcot early last year I believe, or early this year, I can't remember. But he currently meets in the same building with Joy & Sadness, the extended Epcot Character Spot across from the original one.

tl77Sep 22, 2016

Yeah everybody seems to be aware that Universal has the rights to Marvel in Orlando... but when they finally sell those rights to Disney, then hopefully people will stop talking about Marvel at Universal... does anyone still talk about Jaws at Universal?

huwar18Sep 21, 2016

Really...I did not know he was still in the parks. I thought he let after his DHS stint. However, I meant like popular comics. Dr. Strange was a popular character for some time. Not many people knew Baymax until the movie came out. Thanks for sharing!

Next Big ThingSep 21, 2016

Star Lord and Gamora were flown in for that event from LA though since it was only a one-day thing. A casting call like this signifies to me that this will certainly be more than one night. Maybe a special event still, but not just one night.

Quinnmac000Sep 21, 2016

incorrect as Universal owns the jessica lange version from the 1976 which created the whole donkey kong lawsuit. And Universal studios owned the 1933 version as they restored most of it before passing the project on to WB for completion and distribution as they didn't have the resources at the time to restore the film to completion. As for Doctor Strange under the family rule he falls under the defenders whose main two team members and leaders are the hulk and himself. In the contract, it clearly states Universal has rights to members who fall in the family which with Hulk being the leader on new defenders means no attraction for Disney. Probably get away with party character for a few time events but no permanent access even though DIS owns the character.

MichWolvSep 20, 2016

Ow!

Launchpad McQuackSep 20, 2016

I'm not sure the exact monetary terms of the agreement, but Marvel was definitely desperate at the time, dealing with their mid-90s bankruptcy. This was also at the same time that they were selling off all of their movie rights to different studios and, according to some accounts, selling off literally anything they could afford to get rid of from the office, down to filing cabinets.

FigmentJediSep 20, 2016

The 1933 Kong that appears in the montage is owned by Warner Bros/Turner. The only real ownership claim Universal has with Kong are the 2005 film and the international rights to the Toho Kong movies from the 60s. I feel like this fact was a huge factor in Universal's inane 80s lawsuit where they tried suing Nintendo over Donkey Kong, only to find out they didn't actually own Kong either, resulting in them losing the case and Nintendo's lawyer eventually becoming the namesake for Kirby.

ChrisFLSep 20, 2016

Other Universal properties are shown as well, so I don't think that counts