The acquisition would give Disney rights to a wide variety of action characters and story lines that appeal to teenagers and young adults, particularly young males. Characters such as Spider-Man, X-Men and Iron Man have not only entertained generations of comic-book readers, they have in recent years produced a string of blockbuster movies for New York-based Marvel.
The deal apparently won't upend Disney's main theme-park rival, Universal Studios Inc., which has an entire area dedicated to Marvel characters in Islands of Adventure, one of two parks in its Universal Orlando resort.
Universal's long-standing agreement with Marvel gives it exclusive U.S. rights east of the Mississippi River to certain characters for use in theme-park attractions. And the agreement stands for as long as Universal continues to operate the Marvel Super Hero Island area, which features rides such as The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk Coaster and Doctor Doom's Fearfall.
"Marvel Super Hero Island at Universal's Islands of Adventure and the Marvel characters are a beloved and important part of the Universal Orlando experience. They will remain so," said Tom Schroder, a Universal spokesman.
During a Monday conference call, Disney Co. President Bob Iger and Marvel Entertainment executives extolled the benefits of using Disney's worldwide, multi-platform entertainment machine to both create and promote products built around comic-book characters such as Captain America and Thor.