Is Pokémon replacing Spider-Man at USJ?

[chris.g]

Very interesting read. Remember reading elsewhere that an idea of riders/ the theme using the Pokemon Snap system or storyline would be actually creative and a well thought replacement for the attraction.

 

[TheUniC6]

When skimming through the Marvel Universal contract, I read that as long as Marvel is in a certain region with a Universal park, Marvel cannot be used in the Universal park. If and when they finally let SpiderMan go, It would not surprise me if Disney looks to put an Avengers Campus in Tokyo DisneyLand.

 

[quinnmac000]

When skimming through the Marvel Universal contract, I read that as long as Marvel is in a certain region with a Universal park, Marvel cannot be used in the Universal park. If and when they finally let SpiderMan go, It would not surprise me if Disney looks to put an Avengers Campus in Tokyo DisneyLand.

OLC was offered Marvel and they already said no...just like with Star Wars.

 

[Nick]

OLC was offered Marvel and they already said no...just like with Star Wars.

If a third park ever happens at USJ in the compact amount of land it would have to sit on (which i'm not convinced will ever happen), Star Wars and Marvel are enticing as big draws to a new park. However, they don't seem to want to compromise the integrity of their Disneyland or shove in IPs that don't fit thematically with TDS (which I applaud them for).

 

[TheUniC6]

OLC was offered Marvel and they already said no...just like with Star Wars.

Their loss.

 

[quinnmac000]

If a third park ever happens at USJ in the compact amount of land it would have to sit on (which i'm not convinced will ever happen), Star Wars and Marvel are enticing as big draws to a new park. However, they don't seem to want to compromise the integrity of their Disneyland or shove in IPs that don't fit thematically with TDS (which I applaud them for).

TDR's competition is USJ....the issue is those two IPs wouldn't be able to counter USJ's anime IP dominance. While Marvel and Star Wars are popular in Japan, the anime and domestic IPs are much stronger with local audiences (Even with the pandemic, USJ hit capacity when they had the demon slayer event)...

Also even when it comes to Marvel, the most popular hero in Japan is Spider-Man. So taking USJ's spiderman and adding DCA's spiderman ride might not do well.

Why MCU Movies Don’t Do Well In Japan

Japanese audiences are not fully aboard the MCU train.

screenrant.com

OLC would be better off creating an attraction based on Lilo and Stitch than Marvel/Star Wars at this time (Stitch was so popular, he had his own tv show and manga that wasn't released in the US )

 

[Nick]

Also even when it comes to Marvel, the most popular hero in Japan is Spider-Man.

This is precisely because Marvel put the effort into making the character appeal to Japanese audiences back in the 70's and 80's. The Disney+ documenatary series Marvel's 616 does a great job of covering this topic. Here's a short clip:

 

[DudleyRaa]

OLC would be better off creating an attraction based on Lilo and Stitch than Marvel/Star Wars at this time (Stitch was so popular, he had his own tv show and manga that wasn't released in the US )

That's exactly why I don't understand why they still don't have a good Lilo & Stitch attraction (Stitch encounter is not). There they love the character, I always ask him why they don't dedicate a dark ride, a coaster...

 

[BatCom]

That's exactly why I don't understand why they still don't have a good Lilo & Stitch attraction (Stitch encounter is not). There they love the character, I always ask him why they don't dedicate a dark ride, a coaster...

I think Stitch's time is long over in Japan. He was huge in the 2000s but considered old hat now and not that popular with young Japanese today. More of a memory for people in their mid-20s and 30s now.

Marvel and Star Wars are decently well known but not as popular as in the U.S. Star Wars in particular is significantly less popular. I frequently meet young Japanese who have heard of Star Wars but never seen it or only seen one movie a long time ago. I think it's considered more of a thing that their parents were into in the '80s. It's also fairly common for Star Tours at TDL to be near walk-on.

 

[BatCom]

Holy crap it's really happening!

The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man closes permanently at USJ on January 22, 2024.

The same press release also mentioned what we pretty much already knew: that Terminator and Backdraft (which have not run since the pandemic) are also getting replaced.

 

[TheUniC6]

Holy crap it's really happening!

The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man closes permanently at USJ on January 22, 2024.

The same press release also mentioned what we pretty much already knew: that Terminator and Backdraft (which have not run since the pandemic) are also getting replaced.

Wonder what IP will replace Terminator and Backdraft. Not surprised as those were old shows and I bet Universal no longer wanted to pay licensing fees to Paramount to keep Terminator.

 

[BatCom]

Wonder what IP will replace Terminator and Backdraft. Not surprised as those were old shows and I bet Universal no longer wanted to pay licensing fees to Paramount to keep Terminator.

Makes me wonder if that's pointing to a larger Pokemon and/or Nintendo retheme for the New York and San Francisco areas of the park.

 

[Mc-Coy]

I’m surprised they announced the attraction closure this far out but hey if it means they get Pokémon I won’t complain

 

[Viator]

I don’t have Earth on my phone, but Backdraft and it’s plot of land next to it that was used for HHN gives them quite a bit of space to do something. Makes me more interested than Pokémon in this case scenario.

 

[Jwhee]

I don’t have Earth on my phone, but Backdraft and it’s plot of land next to it that was used for HHN gives them quite a bit of space to do something. Makes me more interested than Pokémon in this case scenario.

They also have been loading Backdraft venue with those rotating seasonal shows. Could see that use continue for the short term

 

[Parkscope Joe]

First, Josh called it two years ago. Good on him for the scoop (no pun intended).

 

[Magic-Man]

So what are we looking at here? Just a retheme of Spider-Man into Pokemon?

 

[Parkscope Joe]

So what are we looking at here? Just a retheme of Spider-Man into Pokemon?

It’s not a retheme.

 

[Gartooth]

Wow that was an amazing scoop (pun intended) about Spidey shutting down at USJ from TPU. Its days of operation lasted exactly 20 years too from January 23rd, 2004 to January 22nd, 2024. Seems like the rumor of a 20 year license were on the money. I'm just glad Spidey will be safe in Orlando due to the rights being in perpetuity.

Since T2 and Backdraft also are finished it leaves the New York and San Francisco areas without attractions now. I believe TPU said New York becomes Pokémon, so then what happens to San Francisco? Animal Crossing?

 

[BatCom]

Wow that was an amazing scoop (pun intended) about Spidey shutting down at USJ from TPU. Its days of operation lasted exactly 20 years too from January 23rd, 2004 to January 22nd, 2024. Seems like the rumor of a 20 year license were on the money. I'm just glad Spidey will be safe in Orlando due to the rights being in perpetuity.

Since T2 and Backdraft also are finished it leaves the New York and San Francisco areas without attractions now. I believe TPU said New York becomes Pokémon, so then what happens to San Francisco? Animal Crossing?

Saw some speculation that Backdraft might be more Minions, potentially a clone of Minion Con (SF area is right next to Minion Park) I think still just guessing at this point though.