Boardwalk Times: Stories from the Seashore - Future of the Fox Studios
Disney bought 21st Century Fox back in 2019. Let's see what still remains and what the future holds for Disney's acquired studios.
Welcome back to Boardwalk Times: Stories from the Seashore! We have a new home right here on Substack. I couldn’t be more excited. In this month’s newsletter, we will be discussing the future of the Fox studios and properties, Storyliving by Disney, and as always LINKS OF THE MONTH.
Future of the Former Fox Studios
When Disney made the massive purchase of 21st Century Fox, one of the more interesting dynamics at play was the fact Disney would be getting back into adult content. Years earlier Disney started to focus just solely on Disney, Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars fare. The Fox deal reopened Disney’s path to more adult fare which included 20th Century Fox, Fox Searchlight, and Fox 2000.
In early 2020, Fox Searchlight would become Searchlight Pictures, and 20th Century Fox would become 20th Century Studios. Disney would then shut down Fox 2000 in 2020. Blue Sky Studios, Disney’s third animation studio at the time, would also shut down in 2021.
The pandemic threw a wrench into a lot of things but one has to wonder how some of these Fox films would’ve performed in a normal world. Maybe some of these films were always destined to be box office duds? Maybe Rupert Murdoch knew trouble was on the horizon for his studios and that’s why he sold to Bob Iger?
Before we take a look at the futures of 20th Century and Searchlight. Let’s briefly look at what they have done under Disney’s leadership. Over at Searchlight, they went on to produce and release Nomadland which won Best Picture at the Oscars, and other arthouse/awards fare like The French Dispatch, Nightmare Alley, Summer of Soul, and The Eyes of Tammy Faye. Over at 20th Century Studios, it’s been a mixed bag. Free Guy was the biggest hit of the bunch that included The Last Duel, West Side Story, The King’s Man, and a few others. (It’s not even worth discussing some of the 2019 and 2020 Fox films for obvious reasons like Dark Phoenix and others).
The future of both studios seems to lean more towards streaming options like Disney+, Star, and Hulu instead of theatrical. But both Searchlight and 20th Century will still have films that will get theatrical runs. For 20th Century it will be franchise potential films or sequels/pre-existing IP. For Searchlight it will be award season contenders, so more of their films will probably live on Disney+/Hulu.
Now let’s take a look into the future. Let’s first look at Disney’s Award Factory — Searchlight Pictures.
Next Goal Wins, a sports comedy, directed by Taika Waititi and starring Michael Fassbender, Elisabeth Moss, Rhys Darby, and Will Arnett.
See How They Run, a mystery, starring Saoirse Ronan, Sam Rockwell, David Oyelowo, and Adrien Brody.
Poor Things directed by Yorgos Lantimos and starring Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe, Ramy Youseff, and Mark Ruffalo.
What’s coming to Hulu: Good Luck To You, Leo Grande (bought at Sundance), Fire Island, Not Okay, and possibly more but this is just what we know for 2022 so far.
In development: Eva Longoria’s Flamin’ Hot, James Mangold/Timothee Chalamet’s Bob Dylan biopic, and a ton more.
Now let’s look at 20th Century Studios — the one studio that can produce adult fare for Disney.
Avatar 2 is coming in December.
Untitled David O. Russell film starring Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, John David Washington, Rami Malek, Zoe Saldana, Robert De Niro, Mike Myers, Timothy Olyphant, Michael Shannon, Chris Rock, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Taylor Swift. Just a bonkers cast.
Bob’s Burgers is coming in May.
Cheaper by the Dozen and an animated Night at the Museum film are coming to Disney+ this year from 20th Century.
What else is coming to streaming: rom-com Rosaline, the fifth installment in The Predator franchise Prey, The Princess, and horror film The Boogeyman.
The third installment in the Kingsman trilogy. Kingsman: The Blue Blood arrives in 2023.
Other films in development: Boston Strangler, Clue, Mark Millar’s Starlight, James Mangold’s Buster Keaton biopic, A White Men Can’t Jump remake, a K-Pop film, and more. Will all of these make it out of development? Who knows.
IP films in development include a fourth Planet of the Apes film, a Free Guy sequel, another Ice Age film, a sequel to The Simpsons Movie, and a third Rio film.
Sidenote: I believe without Blue Sky Studios that both the future installments for Ice Age and Rio will go directly to Disney+ and skip theatrical.
Disney is already focusing hard on the IP they gained from 20th Century Fox. Look at what they’re doing with Ice Age, Cheaper by the Dozen, Home Alone, Night at the Museum, and even The Simpsons!
I could see Disney eventually turning its focus to more of the adult properties for streaming eventually. Maybe an Avatar Disney+ series? What about a Kingsman Disney+ series? Planet of the Apes Disney+ series? We already got an Alien Hulu series in development. But I could see Disney leaning harder on Fox properties in the future but also using the studio to create more adult fare or even take some bigger risks when it comes to stories and franchise creation.
Making films that are normally outside the realm of the “Disney” brand will be a big plus—no pun intended—for Disney in the future, and it will help broaden its content offerings for streaming and what they send to theaters. Searchlight can keep creating award-winning films and 20th Century can continue to produce adult fare that may end up becoming a franchise. It’s the best of both worlds.
The future of the former Fox studios is fascinating. Will Disney be able to create critical success with these films but fail commercially? Will some of these films do so well commercially that we start to think of 20th Century as a pillar for Disney similar to Lucasfilm and Marvel?
I hope we see increased output from both studios and I hope Disney doesn’t give up on utilizing them. It would be a shame if Disney ever decided to axe these studios as they did to Blue Sky and Fox 2000.
I think both studios are safe but it’s a never know type deal. Because Disney will only be stronger if they utilize Searchlight and 20th Century Studios. They will gain content but they will also have the benefit of fantastic stories that aren’t always going to be based on Disney characters.
Searchlight and 20th Century Studios are pivotal to have. But will Disney utilize them to their fullest potential? I guess we will see.
Storyliving by Disney
Disney this month announced it’s getting into the residential community game. The first location will be Cotino — A Storyliving by Disney community in Rancho Mirage, California.
What could the future of this new business bring to Disney? Could we see a Disney Storyliving community in Lake Nona near the new Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products campus? What about somewhere in Texas? People have wanted a Disney development in Texas for a while. Will Disney play into the company’s own nostalgia? Could Walt’s hometown of Marceline get one of these? What about St. Louis? What about a community by a ski resort and you can call it Mineral King!
I could do this all day. I may have to write a whole article about the realistic possibilities on the main site Boardwalk Times. I could even do a whole article on joking ones. Disney could get really weird. Westview? Toontown? The return of Progress City/the real version of EPCOT? So, I now have two more articles to write.
In all seriousness, Storyliving by Disney seems like a smart move but it doesn’t help the general public’s view of Disney. An expensive community continues to make Disney this elitist brand. Something that it shouldn’t be.
How Disney will these communities actually be? From the initial concept art, nothing felt truly Disney. Is having Disney cast members run a place still a draw for people in 2022? What would make the average Disney fan get a place there full-time or part-time?
The concept is intriguing, and we should’ve seen it coming. Could other themed entertainment or media companies get into this type of business? Licensing their names to communities? Is there another brand that holds the same weight as Disney to do this though?
Storyliving by Disney is going to be a story to watch for the months to come.
LINKS OF THE MONTH
— Boardwalk Times Multiverse of Marvel contributor Julia Delbel has a new podcast over on The Cosmic Circus. Check out these episodes featuring Boardwalk Times’ Elizabeth Pfeiffer and Sara Edwards. (The Cosmic Circus)
— I penned an op-ed along with Jordie Poblete for DisneyExaminer on Storyliving by Disney. (DisneyExaminer)
—Universal Studios Orlando unveils a new media hub called Discover Universal
— Disney honors 100-year-old WWII veteran at Walt Disney World.
— Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind will likely open over Memorial Day Weekend. (Boardwalk Times)
— How Billie Eilish and Finneas wrote boy band music for Pixar’s Turning Red (DisneyExaminer)
— Disney Takes Visitors to a Galaxy Far, Far Away. (The New York Times)
— A great profile on the prolific career of Disney Imagineer Lanny Smoot. (People)
The Substack Era has started and we are over the moon about it.
Thank you all for reading and supporting Boardwalk Times: Stories from the Seashore.
We will see you next month! Please follow us on social media @BoardwalkTimes and visit boardwalktimes.net for more commentary, news, and opinions on the worlds of Disney and themed entertainment.