Disney-Fox Deal Clears One of Last Big Hurdles

The Disney-Fox deal has cleared yet another big hurdle on its way to being finalized, as Brazil's [...]

The Disney-Fox deal has cleared yet another big hurdle on its way to being finalized, as Brazil's regulatory agency CADE (or "The Administrative Council for Economic Defense") has approved the acquisition deal. With that region now signing off alongside Mexico, the Disney-Fox deal is now set to enter a "final period of review expected to last about 10 days," according to Deadline.

The South American territories were a particularly tricky clearance for Disney to obtain. With Fox Sports and ESPN being part of the deal, there was a lot of concern in foreign nations about matters like soccer rights, as the sport is hugely popular in South America and Europe, in particular. There were a lot of divestitures required by regulators, and it seems that Disney and Fox managed to satisfy the necessary parties; Fox's regional sports networks are now in the process of being shopped to potential collections of buyers. As stated, this now frees the Disney-Fox deal to enter its final stages of completion.

Marvel and Star Wars fans have been paying particularly close attention to the progression of the Disney-Fox deal, as its fulfillment will finally complete the full roster of Marvel Comics characters featured in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as well as giving the full rights of Star Wars over to Disney. Walt Disney Company chairman Bob Iger has already openly stated the studio's intended goal of a complete MCU, stating:

"I think it only makes sense. I want to be careful here because of what's been communicated to the Fox folks, but I think they know. It only makes sense for Marvel to be supervised by one entity. There shouldn't be two Marvels."

That assessment seems to sit just fine with Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige, who has also stated:

"The truth is, I'm excited for all of them. I'm excited, and it's not just the marquee names you know — there are hundreds of names on those documents, on those agreements," said Feige. "And the fact that Marvel is as close as we may ever get now to having access to all of the characters, is something I've been dreaming about for my almost 20 years at Marvel. And it's very exciting."

While not exactly following the rumored timeline of completion, it seems fair to say that the Disney-Fox merger will be completed sometime in the next few months. We'll keep you updated on when that happens - as well as any big MCU announcements that result from it.

Avengers: Infinity War is now available on home video. Upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movies include Captain Marvel on March 8th, Avengers: Endgame on April 26th, and Spider-Man: Far From Homeon July 5th.

-----

Have you subscribed to ComicBook Nation, the official Podcast of ComicBook.com yet? Check it out by clicking here or listen below.

In this latest episode, we talk about the newest Detective Pikachu trailer (and the appearance of Mewtwo!), the Oscars, and so much more! Make sure to subscribe now and never miss an episode!

2comments