Now that Disney officially owns pretty much every major movie franchise under the sun, many are wondering where exactly the studio’s future is headed. Though they may have suffered a $170 million operating loss after purchasing Fox earlier this year, it looks like Mickey and co. are going to lean into their recent science fiction acquisitions to pick them back up.
In an announcement made earlier this week, CEO Bob Iger shed some light on the House of Mouse’s future plans by doubling down on established properties like Avatar and Planet of the Apes, noting that they’re prioritizing each franchise.
Of course, a proper Avatar sequel has been in the works for over a decade, but an information leak late last year revealed that James Cameron has actually been working on at least four additional series entries. Despite the fact that the public hasn’t seen any footage from Avatar 2 (or 3 or 4 or 5), the first sequel – tentatively titled Avatar: The Way of Water – is expected to sail into theaters on December 18th, 2020.
Meanwhile, it seems like anyone’s guess as to where the Planet of the Apes franchise is headed. 2017’s War for the Planet of the Apes seemed to bring Fox’s Andy Serkis-led series to a close, and director Matt Reeves has moved on to helm Warner Bros.’ The Batman. It’s possible that the next iteration of movies could be spinoffs set in the same universe, post-Caesar, but it’s equally likely that Disney reboots the whole shebang altogether.
Whatever happens with the franchises above, it’s clear that the Mouse House still has a safety net in Marvel Studios, which greatly benefitted from the Fox acquisition by way of receiving the Fantastic Four and X-Men character rights. Over the summer, Avengers: Endgame managed to dethrone Avatar as the highest grossing film ever as well, meaning that Disney now owns eight of the top ten biggest box office hits of all time, and it’s clear they have no intention of slowing down.
