That Darn Marvel Contract – What Rights Does Universal and Disney Own

[Bobharlem]

This topic always to bring out the crazy in the Disney boards (not so much here, but sometimes), this is no exception with the recent DCA announcement.

 

[Paulio]

Universal should just get rid of the licensing.

I prefer not, thank you very much, and Universal and Disney are big theme park competitors. No one is going to give up just to empower each other much money and crowd numbers. It's how competition really is. Both companies strives to become the best unlike some others. Just that Comcast giving up to Disney would empower the House of Mouse a lot more, and not Comcast trying to overcome Disney in some ways, like if Comcast announces a deal with Fox instead of Disney.

I feel like I have an unpopular opinion, but I don't understand why it's unpopular:

In a perfect world, let them both build Marvel rides. Disney can build MCU rides and Universal can keep building comic book rides. Everyone wins.

I'm not saying that Universal shouldn't play hardball with the Marvel rights. But, it seems like some people actively want MSHI to be demolished so that Disney can build stuff.

There's a lot of people who love the 90s rock-artitecture style of Marvel Super Hero Island. It's nostalgia in kind of a way as opposed to Disney's Marvel version, which some people feel it's not as hardcore as the Universal one. As you said, Universal isn't going to play hardball with Marvel rights, they rather keep it that way.

 

[Scott W.]

But here is!

Here's my deal, any "Universal should capitulate" comes down to the assumption that Comcast, COMCAST!, is in a weak position and Disney has the upper hand. That is not true at all. Universal has no reason to be the nice person here and let Disney do whatever they want.

I don't get that reasoning either. Universal is holding all the cards here. They don't have to do anything but there's always a deal to be made.

They could offer Disney something ridiculous like having the ability to update MSHI to the MCU, have Disney sell day tickets on their website and through the Disney app to Universal, even run buses to the resort in exchange for Disney to use the Marvel name and start using some of the IPs not currently in use.

Having Disney run buses for their guests to UOR could benefit Disney in this deal as they can lose a guest for a day or two or risk losing them for a week. Running a bus could have their guests home in time to buy dinner at their resort.

I'd love to see a partnership between the two resorts as they have big years coming up and have the potential to offer a better experience for guests and make a little more money.

 

[fryoj]

I don't get that reasoning either. Universal is holding all the cards here. They don't have to do anything but there's always a deal to be made.

They could offer Disney something ridiculous like having the ability to update MSHI to the MCU, have Disney sell day tickets on their website and through the Disney app to Universal, even run buses to the resort in exchange for Disney to use the Marvel name and start using some of the IPs not currently in use.

They could give Disney the Rights to use the Marvel name in CA in exchange for Disney doing the rockwork on the Forbidden Forest ride.

 

[Mad Dog]

Universal should run an ad campaign, "Universal Orlando, the only USA theme park that has MARVEL rides and attractions".

 

[DK745]

But here is!

Here's my deal, any "Universal should capitulate" comes down to the assumption that Comcast, COMCAST!, is in a weak position and Disney has the upper hand. That is not true at all. Universal has no reason to be the nice person here and let Disney do whatever they want.

You're right though. Comcast has no reason at all to let Disney do whatever they want. Why would you willingly give up something to you competitor when you hold all the cards? It's silly. Disney needs to pay up if they want it.

 

[yankees13]

Marvel is becoming probably the most profitable franchise in the world and it’s a shame it’s kind of in a state of limbo in the theme park world. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to see Disney try their hand at a full fledged Marvel land in WDW.

Sure we’ve seen updates to Spider Man and Hulk but it’s within Universals rights to do an Avengers attraction. Yet they seem hesitant to do so. I’ve seen rumors on here for years about a new Avengers ride being in the pipeline. But it seems to be one of those things that will never materialize

 

[IAmFloridaBorn]

Marvel is becoming probably the most profitable franchise in the world and it’s a shame it’s kind of in a state of limbo in the theme park world. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to see Disney try their hand at a full fledged Marvel land in WDW.

Sure we’ve seen updates to Spider Man and Hulk but it’s within Universals rights to do an Avengers attraction. Yet they seem hesitant to do so. I’ve seen rumors on here for years about a new Avengers ride being in the pipeline. But it seems to be one of those things that will never materialize

I Dont think there will ever be any new or relevant Marvel to come to Islands Of Adventure which is why Universal should give it up. I would LOVE to see Disney do a full Marvel Land at Walt DIsney World. I think Marvel has made what, somewhere north of 13/14 billion dollars from the movies? I doubt Universal is profiting enough from what with a not relevant Marvel land. Just doesn't seem like something worth the upkeep especially as Marvel grows stronger and stronger.
Plus Universal can't build a 'Marvel Land' anywhere else right?

 

[yankees13]

I Dont think there will ever be any new or relevant Marvel to come to Islands Of Adventure which is why Universal should give it up. I would LOVE to see Disney do a full Marvel Land at Walt DIsney World. I think Marvel has made what, somewhere north of 13/14 billion dollars from the movies? I doubt Universal is profiting enough from what with a not relevant Marvel land. Just doesn't seem like something worth the upkeep especially as Marvel grows stronger and stronger.
Plus Universal can't build a 'Marvel Land' anywhere else right?

Universal won’t give it up. It’s one of their marquee attractions in the whole resort. Spider Man and Hulk are some of the most recognizable names in pop culture and they have 2 huge attractions in their name. Even if they’re not MCU in the parks. It’s still gotta be bringing in significant money in merchandise sales. It’s probably next behind Potter and maybe Minions.

They’ll never give it up, and I don’t see them partnering with Disney as suggested in this thread. Just illogical from a business standpoint. You wanna see Spider Man, Hulk and Captain America in Orlando? Only at Universal.

 

[JungleSkip]

I Dont think there will ever be any new or relevant Marvel to come to Islands Of Adventure which is why Universal should give it up. I would LOVE to see Disney do a full Marvel Land at Walt DIsney World. I think Marvel has made what, somewhere north of 13/14 billion dollars from the movies? I doubt Universal is profiting enough from what with a not relevant Marvel land. Just doesn't seem like something worth the upkeep especially as Marvel grows stronger and stronger.
Plus Universal can't build a 'Marvel Land' anywhere else right?

The shops in MSHI are always busy, and considering Spider-Man is consistently ranked as one of the greatest attractions in the world, I'd say it's pretty dang relevant. Not sure why them not being able to build Marvel outside IoA matters.

Also, I'm a Marvel fanboy through and through, but I don't think the MCU is going to keep getting stronger and stronger, especially after Downey Jr, Evans, and Hemsworth leave after Avengers 4. I hope I'm wrong, but I don't see the upward trend continuing.

 

[Mad Dog]

I'm one that's never been a huge fan of converting IOA attractions to MCU.....I'm one of the few that post here that actually grew up reading, and collecting, Marvels in the 1960's & 1970's when Stan Lee, along with a vast array of talented artist/writers, reinvented the superhero genre. I feel that the SpiderMan attraction in IOA actually recreates the original Marvel experience way better than the movies do. When I ride Spidey in IOA, I actually feel like I'm back in the 1960's reading a Marvel comic. I don't feel the same when I watch any of these Marvel movies. Yes, they're good action flicks, with decent actors, but they don't capture the experience" as well" as the "animated" SpiderMan attraction does......,.,And, MCU has the potential to become dated. Animation is basically timeless.

 

[Brian G.]

I will add, that everything I've seen from Disney on their Marvel attractions so far has left me extremely unimpressed.

 

[JungleSkip]

I'm one that's never been a huge fan of converting IOA attractions to MCU.....I'm one of the few that post here that actually grew up reading, and collecting, Marvels in the 1960's & 1970's when Stan Lee, along with a vast array of talented artist/writers, reinvented the superhero genre. I feel that the SpiderMan attraction in IOA actually recreates the original Marvel experience way better than the movies do. When I ride Spidey in IOA, I actually feel like I'm back in the 1960's reading a Marvel comic. I don't feel the same when I watch any of these Marvel movies. Yes, they're good action flicks, with decent actors, but they don't capture the experience" as well" as the "animated" SpiderMan attraction does......,.,And, MCU has the potential to become dated. Animation is basically timeless.

Ehhhhhhhhhh. I grew up ready the comics, but the Spidey Ride is based off the bad 90s cartoon, and the whole land needs an aesthetic upgrade. I don’t need the MCU, but I want the land to be far more immersive and at least have a modern comics aesthetic

 

[Mad Dog]

Ehhhhhhhhhh. I grew up ready the comics, but the Spidey Ride is based off the bad 90s cartoon, and the whole land needs an aesthetic upgrade. I don’t need the MCU, but I want the land to be far more immersive and at least have a modern comics aesthetic

Not disputing that, just that animation, whether it's 90's or later, captures the comic book aesthetic better than MCU does. And the Spidey ride story is truer to the original material than the MCU story lines. And, yes, upgrade the comics aesthetic, but keep it in the animation mode rather than conversion to MCU.....Actually, the original Ditko artwork was primitive , but there were continual style changes over the years, most often due to the various artist's individual style. The key though is "animation" as opposed to MCU.

 

[JungleSkip]

Not disputing that, just that animation, whether it's 90's or later, captures the comic book aesthetic better than MCU does. And the Spidey ride story is truer to the original material than the MCU story lines. And, yes, upgrade the comics aesthetic, but keep it in the animation mode rather than conversion to MCU.....Actually, the original Ditko artwork was primitive , but there were continual style changes over the years, most often due to the various artist's individual style. The key though is "animation" as opposed to MCU.

Eh. I’ll agree to disagree. Modern comics don’t look like what we see at MSHI. It’s far more realistic. I just want the land to not look like a knockoff Six Flags Land

 

[Mad Dog]

Eh. I’ll agree to disagree. Modern comics don’t look like what we see at MSHI. It’s far more realistic. I just want the land to not look like a knockoff Six Flags Land

I'm actually agreeing with you. Upgrade the look for sure. Just base it on artwork/animation rather than MCU.

 

[sonoma15]

I will add, that everything I've seen from Disney on their Marvel attractions so far has left me extremely unimpressed.

Agreed, 2 overlays doesn’t really show much.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Eh. I’ll agree to disagree. Modern comics don’t look like what we see at MSHI. It’s far more realistic. I just want the land to not look like a knockoff Six Flags Land

Six Flags doesn’t look as good as MSHI does. I was there a week ago i know lol.

 

[Scott W.]

I Dont think there will ever be any new or relevant Marvel to come to Islands Of Adventure which is why Universal should give it up. I would LOVE to see Disney do a full Marvel Land at Walt DIsney World. I think Marvel has made what, somewhere north of 13/14 billion dollars from the movies? I doubt Universal is profiting enough from what with a not relevant Marvel land. Just doesn't seem like something worth the upkeep especially as Marvel grows stronger and stronger.
Plus Universal can't build a 'Marvel Land' anywhere else right?

I'd love to see Disney do a full Marvel Land at WDW too but I don't have the confidence that they can pull it off. Disneyland rumours suggest that it will be severely lacklustre. Universal made their money back from MSHI well before it became as big as it is and have got extremely lucky with it and are reaping the benefits. They have no reason to stop what they're doing.

Not being able to build Marvel rides else where is an interesting point. Universal and Disney are at a stage where they can build one ride or land and then clone it to other resorts to justify the costs, Universal don't have this luxury for cost saving.

I'm one that's never been a huge fan of converting IOA attractions to MCU.....I'm one of the few that post here that actually grew up reading, and collecting, Marvels in the 1960's & 1970's when Stan Lee, along with a vast array of talented artist/writers, reinvented the superhero genre. I feel that the SpiderMan attraction in IOA actually recreates the original Marvel experience way better than the movies do. When I ride Spidey in IOA, I actually feel like I'm back in the 1960's reading a Marvel comic. I don't feel the same when I watch any of these Marvel movies. Yes, they're good action flicks, with decent actors, but they don't capture the experience" as well" as the "animated" SpiderMan attraction does......,.,And, MCU has the potential to become dated. Animation is basically timeless.

I can see it both ways, I think an MCU upgrade would be costly but would result in a huge boost for IOA but does IOA need it with more Potter coming? It would be a nice way to balance the park out though.

I think the comic book look is more timeless but it's probably not as popular as the movies and the Hulk redo sucked.

Ehhhhhhhhhh. I grew up ready the comics, but the Spidey Ride is based off the bad 90s cartoon, and the whole land needs an aesthetic upgrade. I don’t need the MCU, but I want the land to be far more immersive and at least have a modern comics aesthetic

The awesome 90s cartoon you mean. Lots of happy memories watching that as a kid on Saturday morning.

 

[JungleSkip]

Six Flags doesn’t look as good as MSHI does. I was there a week ago i know lol.

MSHI looks bad. Really bad.

The awesome 90s cartoon you mean. Lots of happy memories watching that as a kid on Saturday morning.

Listen, I watched as a kid too. But all the cartoons of the time are pretty, pretty, pretty bad. Especially compared to the quality of the cartoons they make now.