Disney And Fox Approve Merger, Paving The Way For X-Men Acquisition

Walt Disney and 21st Century Fox have voted in favor of a deal in which Disney will acquire large portions of the Fox company. The $71.3 billion deal will include 20th Century Fox film and TV studios, along with FX, Nat Geo, Star India, and Fox's 30% stake in Hulu and 39% stake in Sky.

The Hollywood Reporter reports that the combination merger proposal received a majority of shareholder votes from Fox remarkably quickly, in just eight minutes. This appears to pave the way for Disney to own even more iconic brands, including the X-Men and Fantastic Four, both of which could finally find their way into the MCU.

There has been a tense bidding war going on between Disney and Comcast for Fox and its assets. Comcast recently dropped its own $65 billion bid, paving the way for this merger to take place. Comcast reportedly remains interested in acquiring Sky's assets.

Disney itself has emphasized the deal as a win for audiences, saying that buying Fox will help them make "richer, more complex worlds of inter-related characters and stories that audiences have shown they love." Aside from the obvious Marvel comics synergy, this would also give Disney control over the Avatar franchise, The Simpsons, and the Alien and Predator series.