While we are all acting like the upcoming Disney and Fox deal is the best thing since sliced bread, the deal may actually come at a price for fans of the Fox Studios movies and related properties.
Logan director James Mangold recently touched upon the Disney and Fox deal and offered up it might not necessarily be a good thing.
Deadline reports James Mangold questioned how the Fox properties would fit in with Disney (especially considering Disney is non-R-rated).
“If they’re actually changing their mandate, if what they’re supposed to do alters, that would be sad to me because it just means less movies. I just hope what we end up with is going to be a positive in terms of movies.”
Patrick Stewart, the X-Men’s Professor Xavier, also chimed in:
“Whatever happens, I want it to be a good thing for the studio.”
James Mangold saw large success with the R-rated Logan movie, and Fox Studios also found a huge hit with the R-rated Deadpool. Mangold goes on to note how an R-rated movie is different, and seemingly takes a jab at Disney at the same time.
“The real thing that happens when you make a movie rated R, behind the scenes, is that the studio has to adjust to the reality that there will be no Happy Meals. There will be no action figures. The entire merchandising, cross-pollinating side of selling the movie to children is dead before you even start. And when that’s dead, it means you’re making a grown-up movie… you don’t come under the pressure of how a 12-year-old is going to react to the movie, not just in terms of violence or language but in terms of pace or even the depth of interest in what people are talking about. We’ve now so co-opted this idea that these movies are not really stories, but are merchandise entities. You can’t kill the characters because they’re worth so much effing money.”
Mangold’s words may hold merit as it’s entirely possible that Disney will make less X-Men movies to compete with its own Marvel Studios films, as well as “dumb” down Deadpool and any other potential R-rated X-Men movie properties.
Ryan Reynolds has also voiced concerns on the future of Deadpool as the actor took to social media with a play on words (“fudge” instead of the R-rated “F” word):
If this is true, I wonder how the fudge it would affect Deadpool? https://t.co/66RNUDU80S
— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) November 6, 2017
The Disney and Fox deal is expected to be announced this Thursday.
