What the Disney Takeover Means for Marvel Movies

Disney Bought Marvel 10 Years Ago: How It Changed Everything

In 2009, Disney announced a deal to acquire Marvel, and this move had a bigger impact on the entertainment industry than many anticipated.

It's been 10 years since Disney bought Marvel Entertainment – a move that changed not only Marvel but also the entertainment industry in general. Marvel is now one of the biggest names in film and comics, all thanks to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, though the brand has been popular for decades, mostly among comic book readers. Marvel is home to superheroes like Captain America, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, and many more.

With the help of different studios, Marvel has been producing content outside comic book pages for years now, but not all of them were successful. Films like Daredevil, Ghost Rider, and even a live-action version of Man-Thing were made years prior to the MCU, but they didn't do well with viewers and critics (and titles like Man-Thing are some that Marvel probably chooses to forget). Things took a turn in 2009 when Disney announced a deal to acquire Marvel Entertainment, and that was the beginning of a big entertainment phenomenon.

Disney bought Marvel for $4.24 billion, and the deal was approved on December 31, 2009. After that came the divisions of Marvel Television and Marvel Studios, and a lot of films and TV shows that had a bigger impact on the film industry than many anticipated.

How Disney's Marvel Acquisition Changed Everything

The MCU as the world now knows it began before Disney bought Marvel, as Jon Favreau's Iron Man was released in 2008, so the Mouse House can't take credit for creating the MCU – but it can brag about turning it into what it is now. The first film to be distributed by Disney was The Avengers, in 2012, and the distribution rights to Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger were later purchased. Under Disney's wing, the MCU took more risks and explored other, less popular characters from Marvel Comics that ended up being a big hit, like Guardians of the Galaxy. Although the films from the MCU are not perfect (and it still hasn't fixed its infamous "villain problem"), Disney made superhero franchises and connected universes what they are now, with other studios attempting to create their own.

As part of the MCU, Disney took Marvel to television and streaming, with shows like Agent Carter, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, as well as series that weren't part of the MCU but were produced by Marvel Television, such as Legion and The Gifted. Though these didn't have the same impact and success as Marvel's films, they certainly helped grow Disney and Marvel's dominance in the media. With the arrival of Disney+, the studio is now working on various Marvel TV series that will connect (for real, this time) with the films in the MCU, which not only expands this universe even more but will also make fans subscribe to the platform if they want to keep up with the upcoming phases, further cementing Disney's pop culture dominance.

Disney's acquisition of Marvel showed the power and influence that the Mouse House has in the entertainment industry, and how it can make something like a big, interconnected superhero universe a hit, and one that expands to other media. With the MCU now preparing for another wave of content not only in film but streaming too, it's yet to be seen if Disney will maintain that success and popularity for another 10 years.

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About The Author

Adrienne Tyler (2947 Articles Published)

Adrienne Tyler is a features writer for Screen Rant. She is an Audiovisual Communication graduate who wanted to be a filmmaker, but life had other plans (and it turned out great). Prior to Screen Rant, she wrote for Pop Wrapped, 4 Your Excitement (4YE), and D20Crit, where she was also a regular guest at Netfreaks podcast. She was also a contributor for FanSided's BamSmackPow and 1428 Elm. Adrienne is very into films and she enjoys a bit of everything: from superhero films to heartbreaking dramas, to low-budget horror films. Every time she manages to commit to a TV show without getting bored, an angel gets its wings.

When she's not writing, you can find her trying to learn a new language, watching hockey (go Avs!), or wondering what life would have been like had Pushing Daisies, Firefly, and Limitless not been cancelled. Breakfast food is life and coffee is what makes the world go round.

Guillermo del Toro said "hi" to her once. It was great.

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What the Disney Takeover Means for Marvel Movies

Source: https://screenrant.com/disney-marvel-purchase-10-years-movies-changed-how/

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