Warner Bros IPs in Universal Parks? (Blue Sky)

[shiekra38]

One thing to look at when discussing buying other companies. There's no cheap money out there like there was before covid. Rising interest rates, everywhere in the world, is making the
likelihood of acquisitions much less than they were during the low interest rate days.

That and Comcast/Disney don't buy things up with the mentality of "omg we can build a Batman coaster"

It's all about the #content....with the streaming thing continuing to be a high cost/slim margin endeavor, I wonder if we'll see a major acquisition like Disney/Fox for quite some time

 

[MrBlonde]

One thing to look at when discussing buying other companies. There's no cheap money out there like there was before covid. Rising interest rates, everywhere in the world, is making the
likelihood of acquisitions much less than they were during the low interest rate days.

Interest rates definitely lower the prospect of outright acquistion, but I think WBD management and how desperate it is for cash increases the chance partnerships can work due to revenue sharing agreements and cash infusions to the liscence holder. WB is back in the LOTR business and Uni coming in with theme park rights could be a good way to stuff the coffers. I feel like that company is in shambles so I don't assume much with them right now.

Also, isn't Rick & Morty WB?

If this was 30 years ago, I would've loved a Police Academy stunt show.

WestWorld wasn't a big draw, but a in park game featuring that property with a Delos pre-show room and lab for the bots could've been great, but I don't think it's big enough to warrant much.

 

[TheUniC6]

Interest rates definitely lower the prospect of outright acquistion, but I think WBD management and how desperate it is for cash increases the chance partnerships can work due to revenue sharing agreements and cash infusions to the liscence holder. WB is back in the LOTR business and Uni coming in with theme park rights could be a good way to stuff the coffers. I feel like that company is in shambles so I don't assume much with them right now.

Also, isn't Rick & Morty WB?

If this was 30 years ago, I would've loved a Police Academy stunt show.

WestWorld wasn't a big draw, but a in park game featuring that property with a Delos pre-show room and lab for the bots could've been great, but I don't think it's big enough to warrant much.

When interest rates come down then they could make a purchase. Plus any merger can't happen until April 2024 at the earliest. Maybe interest rates will be lower then. But at the same time I doubt that Brian Robbins the Comcast CEO would want to turn down a possibly once in a generation opportunity to turn NBCUniversal into a Disney level IP powerhouse.

 

[TheUniC6]

If Universal somehow got the rights to DC from Six flags, How should they approach DC in the Universal parks? Should they do something like Avengers Campus if the James Gunn DCU is successful? Or should it be a more modern version of Super Hero Island at IOA with some aspects of the Gunn DCU thrown in like the ability for new characters to show up the day their movies an TV shows drop? And while I don't know the details of the SF DC contract? Could they do a DC attraction with characters not featured at SF parks? Like maybe a standalone Krypto the Superdog/DC Superpets TSMM style attraction if they can't procure the full rights to DC?

 

[GAcoaster]

When the rights are licensed there are very specific versions of those characters/stories that are part of the licensing. Currently Six Flags rights to DC are pretty specifically the comic book versions of all the characters and not any of the movie iterations. When Time Warner owned Six Flags they got more specific with the (then current) movie versions of Batman, but now they are a specified era in the comics. All the renderings of the characters, the costumes, etc. are approved by Warner and have to meet the guidelines. When they've introduced new DC themed Six Flags attractions since Time Warner sold the parks they tie into the idea of the current installment of the DC Universe (when Green Lantern came out it was GL, when Wonder Woman came out it was WW, when Joker came out it was Joker, etc.), but the style of the attraction artwork is never the current movie style but instead the classic comic book style, just like Marvel Superhero Island and IoA.

Now, if Comcast owned DC some of that could change, but there are still production companies involved with films who also sometimes have to sign off as well.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

It's amazing to think how many superhero movies we get each year (and their box office results) and yet they get rather sloppy attractions outside of Hulk/Spiderman/GOTG.

 

[TheUniC6]

It's amazing to think how many superhero movies we get each year (and their box office results) and yet they get rather sloppy attractions outside of Hulk/Spiderman/GOTG.

The Multiverse attraction at DCA could rank up there with Hulk, Spiderman IOA, and GOTG. The concept at first glance seems pretty creative. We just got to wait and see if it's ever built and how well its executed.

 

[TheUniC6]

One thing I realized in regards to the DC theme park rights: there are DC attractions outside of the Six Flags parks. Justice League Alien Invasion at WB Movie World. And the indoor WB movie world in Abu Dubai has DC attractions as well. So by this logic Universal could do a DC superhero area. A DC land would be very popular and knowing Comcast's recent track record with the parks this would blow Avengers Campus out of the water. The big question would be to follow the Avengers Campus and base it on the upcoming rebooted James Gunn DCU. If it successful I could see them possibly doing that. Or they could go in a different direction than Avengers Campus in regards to theming.

 

[TheUniC6]

Following up, but another advantage a DC land under Universal would have over Avengers Campus would be space. The hypothetical areas it would go in my mind for USF would be the area with the spring tents behind MIB and Simpsons and at USH if they could find a way with the studio to demo the soundstages to the left of mummy are far bigger than what used to be Bugs Land at DCA and the Backlot at WDSP. Meaning even a more family friendly D ticket can still be much larger and impressive than Web Slingers. Knowing Universal they would also make sure to actually put effort into the attractions and not use the as a vehicle to sell merch. (Cough cough the spider bots from Web slingers.)

 

[grlhowl]

Bourne Stunt Show seems amazing but I would do anything for a Matrix stunt show. Some of the stuff in that show seems perfect for it, like the slow motion scene

 

[Cygnus]

Zaslav running the ship? If these talks ever materialized, then I tried to warn you. Be careful what you wish for

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Zaslav running the ship? If these talks ever materialized, then I tried to warn you. Be careful what you wish for

The Universal Chapek years are on the horizon...

 

[Cygnus]

"An industry source says when Comcast’s Brian Roberts engaged in merger talks with Paramount Global chairwoman Shari Redstone in 2021, he offered to put Paramount president and CEO Bob Bakish in charge of the combined companies (though Roberts wanted ultimate control). In 2022, Roberts explored a merger of NBCU with the gaming company Electronic Arts that would have put EA CEO Andrew Wilson in charge."

They've been exploring mergers with everybody lmaooo

The Whispers Behind NBCUniversal’s Jeff Shell Firing

 

[TheUniC6]

It was mentioned on this thread Looney Tunes could be an IP to add to Universal Parks as an attraction. If they were to use LT, a great idea for an attraction would be a mock Great Movie ride that spoofs famous movies. That can either be Universal's own library, or use this concept as a vehicle to poke fun at Disney especially the Princesses. Or a mix of both. This would in many ways would basically be the Great Muppet Movie ride that was planned for Muppets Courtyard but got scrapped due to Jim Henson'd unexpected death.

 

[Crypt Keeper]

Looney Tunes would be a great replacement for Toon Lagoon.

 

[TheUniC6]

Looney Tunes would be a great replacement for Toon Lagoon.

If they were to reskin TL to Looney Tunes, the great movie ride spoof concept I pitched above could then be exclusive to USH. USH could use another exclusive ride and this would be an ideal fit for a park so heavily tied to movie history.

 

[Milla4Prez66]

I like the idea of a Looney Tunes GMR, like the scrapped concept Disney had to do something similar with the Muppets.

Unfortunately, I don’t think the ol classic Looney Tunes are as big with children today as they used to be. If Universal went after WB characters it would be for DC and Scooby Doo above anything else IMO. I wouldn’t see the Tunes getting much love in the parks over minions or DreamWorks.

 

[SeventyOne]

While I do see DC comics being used at some point if Universal buys the rights from Six Flags, I do wonder if Hanna Barbara and Looney Toones are relevant enough to get theme park attractions.

I don't know about anchoring a whole land, but I think a number of the HB characters are self-explanatory enough you don't really need a fleshed-out backstory. E.g. Quick-Draw is a dopey horse cowboy, Atom Ant is a superhero, Huckleberry Hound is a Southern everyman. I think any character could host a ride or a meet & greet and do fine.

As for potential restaurants, two words: Flintstones. Ribs.

 

[TheUniC6]

I like the idea of a Looney Tunes GMR, like the scrapped concept Disney had to do something similar with the Muppets.

Unfortunately, I don’t think the ol classic Looney Tunes are as big with children today as they used to be. If Universal went after WB characters it would be for DC and Scooby Doo above anything else IMO. I wouldn’t see the Tunes getting much love in the parks over minions or DreamWorks.

FWIW WBD did announce a Bugs Bunny live action hybrid movie for 2025.

 

[TheUniC6]

In a hypothetical DC area, would a Midway Mania style ride be acceptable for a well know big franchise like DC depending on how it is executed? I would imagine that the gaming tech that is debuting on Villain Con (which sounds very intriguing) would be cool if put on a larger scale ride and Universal has recently or somewhat recently patented things like an interactive token system, a scaleable interactive video system, dynamic motion for ride vehicles and an interactive display with special effects assembly which could be applied to a MM type ride. The overall ride itself can be larger than Web Slingers or TSMM to allow for more bells and whistles as hypothetical DC lands which would likely go in expansion spots that are currently backstage areas are far larger than Bugs Land at DCA or the backlot at WDSP which would mean any constraints Disney had to work around which IMO hindered the overall ambition and quality of AC would not be as big of an issue here.