Nick Cannata-Bowman February 07, 2015
How 6 Marvel Superheroes Came to Be Owned by Other Studios
With all the superhero movies coming out nowadays, there’s a lot of money to be made. The Avengers alone made $1.5 billion worldwide according to IMDb, while franchises like Spider-Man have made a habit of breaking box office records. Way back before they were cash cows though, Marvel saw their various superheroes as commodities to be sold off to make a quick buck. Starting as early as 1985, franchises were offered up to studios like Sony, 20th Century Fox, and more, culminating in a whole mess of reasons now why Marvel can’t bring characters they themselves created into the cinematic fold.What do you think?
Each studio with a Marvel property keeps it jealously guarded, knowing full well the moneymaking potential each respective franchise represents. While it would make sense for the rights to return to their original creators, the current owners have kept an iron grip since they first acquired their various properties.
1. Spider-Man
Owned by: Sony Pictures
Eight years before Marvel Studios even existed, the comic book publishing house sold the rights to Spider-Man, and so ensued a series of acquisitions and contracts that eventually landed it at Sony Pictures. They in turn raked in over an estimated $800 million at worldwide box offices with their first movie, spawning two more sequels and an eventual series reboot. Since The Amazing Spider Man 2 though, the franchise has come to a screeching halt in the wake of sub-par box office returns.What do you think?
If Sony doesn’t keep on putting our Spider-Man movies, eventually the rights revert back to Marvel, making it a real problem if the studio continues to lose money on the films just to hold on to control of the franchise. Maybe soon, Sony will cut their losses and allow Spidey back into the Marvel universe in time for the Civil War storyline, set to debut in 2016.
2. The Fantastic Four
Owned by: 20th Century Fox
Back in 2005, 20th Century Fox thought they had the next big movie franchise when they released their Fantastic 4 movie. One flop of a sequel later though, and it remained dormant until just this last year, with a 2015 reboot set to release in August. There’s also a planned sequel in the works for 2017, as Fox clearly is reluctant to let go of this one without at least trying to go out in a blaze of glory. The one big issue that arises here is that any new character created within this universe by Marvel in the comics automatically becomes the property of Fox. This has all led to speculation the actual comic book for Fantastic Four could come to a permanent end as a result of this strange deal. Marvel even reportedly issued an edict where, according to AV Club, writers are “forbidden to create new characters,†lest they end up in Fox’s pocket in theaters.
3. X-Men
Owned by: 20th Century Fox (Sort of)
Bryan Singer’s X-Men back in 2000 found itself as the first commercial success for a superhero movie, getting the ball rolling for the next decade plus to come of franchises. But 20th Century Fox’s rights for the X-Men contain some strange loopholes. First and foremost, they completely own the right to the term “mutant,†and by extension any characters who are part of the X-Men in the comic universe. On the other end, Marvel owns the rights to the Avengers, and any character who was a primary member of that team in print. Two characters, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, have historically been members of both superhero teams, making it so both Marvel and Fox have the films rights to them.What do you think?
Is your head spinning yet? Because it’s about to be. Fox’s ownership of the word “mutant†makes it so the Avengers lose Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch’s origin stories as Magneto’s offspring (and by extension mutants), but not the characters themselves. What Marvel’s done instead is claim they were part of experiments by Hydra to create superhumans, integrating them into the upcoming Age of Ultron. The legal rights to each are incredibly twisted and convoluted, but when this much money is on the line it’s always going to be.
4. Deadpool
Owned by: 20th Century Fox
Back in 2009, we saw our first ever film appearance from Deadpool, the iconic fourth-wall-breaking merc with a mouth. He was played by Ryan Reynolds, and in the end gave us a version of the character that only served to anger fans when he ended up as a mouthless mutant zombie. Fans were pleased to learn recently though that Reynolds will be getting another shot at the role in a brand new reboot, giving the popular character a much-needed redemption in theaters. But as a character at least loosely affiliated with the X-Men, his rights belong solely to Fox for the foreseeable future. Sorry, Marvel.
5. Namor
Owned by: Universal (maybe?)
Namor is one of the oldest characters in the Marvel universe, created way back in 1939 when the publishing house was bankrupt and selling off property like candy. Known as “The Sub-Mariner,†he’s the Marvel equivalent to DC’s Aquaman, often finding himself crossing paths with the X-Men and the Avengers. But neither Universal nor Marvel (allegedly) completely own the rights to his character.
Comicbook.com details the long, strange saga, where, despite owning some form of rights to Namor, Marvel still can’t greenlight a movie thanks to legal complications with Universal. That same article cites a quote from Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, saying that while they technically retain rights, “there are older contracts that still involve other parties that mean we need to work things out before we move forward on it.†Whatever that means, there’s one thing that’s certain: We won’t be seeing the Sub-Mariner in theaters any time soon.
6. The Silver Surfer
Owned by: 20th Century Fox
We saw the Silver Surfer show up in the second Fantastic Four movie, but since then he hasn’t been seen or heard from again. As an iconic character that really could hold his own franchise, it’s baffling to say the least to see him sidelined the way he has been in the cinematic universe. Maybe it’s the fact that Fox doesn’t predict a silver space alien will connect with audiences, or perhaps they intend to reintegrate him back into the upcoming Fantastic Four movies. Whatever the reason, the Surfer has remained curiously absent.
Marvel Studios likely saw the same franchise opportunity, in an alleged proposal by Marvel Studios reported by Collider back in 2012, where they would have sent the rights to Daredevil over to Fox in exchange for the Silver Surfer (and by extension the rights to the galaxy-crushing super-villain Galactus as well). Alas, the trade never came to fruition, leaving the Surfer in the hands of Fox.
How 6 Marvel Superheroes Came to Be Owned by Other Studios
With all the superhero movies coming out nowadays, there’s a lot of money to be made. The Avengers alone made $1.5 billion worldwide according to IMDb, while franchises like Spider-Man have made a habit of breaking box office records. Way back before they were cash cows though, Marvel saw their various superheroes as commodities to be sold off to make a quick buck. Starting as early as 1985, franchises were offered up to studios like Sony, 20th Century Fox, and more, culminating in a whole mess of reasons now why Marvel can’t bring characters they themselves created into the cinematic fold.What do you think?
Each studio with a Marvel property keeps it jealously guarded, knowing full well the moneymaking potential each respective franchise represents. While it would make sense for the rights to return to their original creators, the current owners have kept an iron grip since they first acquired their various properties.
1. Spider-Man
Owned by: Sony Pictures
Eight years before Marvel Studios even existed, the comic book publishing house sold the rights to Spider-Man, and so ensued a series of acquisitions and contracts that eventually landed it at Sony Pictures. They in turn raked in over an estimated $800 million at worldwide box offices with their first movie, spawning two more sequels and an eventual series reboot. Since The Amazing Spider Man 2 though, the franchise has come to a screeching halt in the wake of sub-par box office returns.What do you think?
If Sony doesn’t keep on putting our Spider-Man movies, eventually the rights revert back to Marvel, making it a real problem if the studio continues to lose money on the films just to hold on to control of the franchise. Maybe soon, Sony will cut their losses and allow Spidey back into the Marvel universe in time for the Civil War storyline, set to debut in 2016.
2. The Fantastic Four
Owned by: 20th Century Fox
Back in 2005, 20th Century Fox thought they had the next big movie franchise when they released their Fantastic 4 movie. One flop of a sequel later though, and it remained dormant until just this last year, with a 2015 reboot set to release in August. There’s also a planned sequel in the works for 2017, as Fox clearly is reluctant to let go of this one without at least trying to go out in a blaze of glory. The one big issue that arises here is that any new character created within this universe by Marvel in the comics automatically becomes the property of Fox. This has all led to speculation the actual comic book for Fantastic Four could come to a permanent end as a result of this strange deal. Marvel even reportedly issued an edict where, according to AV Club, writers are “forbidden to create new characters,†lest they end up in Fox’s pocket in theaters.
3. X-Men
Owned by: 20th Century Fox (Sort of)
Bryan Singer’s X-Men back in 2000 found itself as the first commercial success for a superhero movie, getting the ball rolling for the next decade plus to come of franchises. But 20th Century Fox’s rights for the X-Men contain some strange loopholes. First and foremost, they completely own the right to the term “mutant,†and by extension any characters who are part of the X-Men in the comic universe. On the other end, Marvel owns the rights to the Avengers, and any character who was a primary member of that team in print. Two characters, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, have historically been members of both superhero teams, making it so both Marvel and Fox have the films rights to them.What do you think?
Is your head spinning yet? Because it’s about to be. Fox’s ownership of the word “mutant†makes it so the Avengers lose Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch’s origin stories as Magneto’s offspring (and by extension mutants), but not the characters themselves. What Marvel’s done instead is claim they were part of experiments by Hydra to create superhumans, integrating them into the upcoming Age of Ultron. The legal rights to each are incredibly twisted and convoluted, but when this much money is on the line it’s always going to be.
4. Deadpool
Owned by: 20th Century Fox
Back in 2009, we saw our first ever film appearance from Deadpool, the iconic fourth-wall-breaking merc with a mouth. He was played by Ryan Reynolds, and in the end gave us a version of the character that only served to anger fans when he ended up as a mouthless mutant zombie. Fans were pleased to learn recently though that Reynolds will be getting another shot at the role in a brand new reboot, giving the popular character a much-needed redemption in theaters. But as a character at least loosely affiliated with the X-Men, his rights belong solely to Fox for the foreseeable future. Sorry, Marvel.
5. Namor
Owned by: Universal (maybe?)
Namor is one of the oldest characters in the Marvel universe, created way back in 1939 when the publishing house was bankrupt and selling off property like candy. Known as “The Sub-Mariner,†he’s the Marvel equivalent to DC’s Aquaman, often finding himself crossing paths with the X-Men and the Avengers. But neither Universal nor Marvel (allegedly) completely own the rights to his character.
Comicbook.com details the long, strange saga, where, despite owning some form of rights to Namor, Marvel still can’t greenlight a movie thanks to legal complications with Universal. That same article cites a quote from Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, saying that while they technically retain rights, “there are older contracts that still involve other parties that mean we need to work things out before we move forward on it.†Whatever that means, there’s one thing that’s certain: We won’t be seeing the Sub-Mariner in theaters any time soon.
6. The Silver Surfer
Owned by: 20th Century Fox
We saw the Silver Surfer show up in the second Fantastic Four movie, but since then he hasn’t been seen or heard from again. As an iconic character that really could hold his own franchise, it’s baffling to say the least to see him sidelined the way he has been in the cinematic universe. Maybe it’s the fact that Fox doesn’t predict a silver space alien will connect with audiences, or perhaps they intend to reintegrate him back into the upcoming Fantastic Four movies. Whatever the reason, the Surfer has remained curiously absent.
Marvel Studios likely saw the same franchise opportunity, in an alleged proposal by Marvel Studios reported by Collider back in 2012, where they would have sent the rights to Daredevil over to Fox in exchange for the Silver Surfer (and by extension the rights to the galaxy-crushing super-villain Galactus as well). Alas, the trade never came to fruition, leaving the Surfer in the hands of Fox.
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