stegron01 Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 I'm kinda mixed on this. While I feel sorry for those who would have wanted them, I'm pretty happy if it means one less movie wave next year to get in the way of comic releases. I also feel that I have great versions of all the FF themselves and many of their villains/supporting cast, especially after the excellent wave 48 etc. However, there are still a few villains I would have liked, especially the frightful four, and if it did stop us getting the inhumans I would be very disappointed - not that there seems much sign of us getting them anyway though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elhonez Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 We're sure about this? This would be a bummer... there are exactly 9 FF villain minimates I still want. One, Attuma, might still be on the table as he is not exclusively FF. The other 8: Mad Thinker, Awesome Android, Diablo, Dragon Man, Psycho-Man, Wizard, Trapster, Impossible Man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterPL Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 I'm kinda mixed on this. While I feel sorry for those who would have wanted them, I'm pretty happy if it means one less movie wave next year to get in the way of comic releases. I also feel that I have great versions of all the FF themselves and many of their villains/supporting cast, especially after the excellent wave 48 etc. However, there are still a few villains I would have liked, especially the frightful four, and if it did stop us getting the inhumans I would be very disappointed - not that there seems much sign of us getting them anyway though! Despite The Inhumans appearing first in the pages of Fantastic Four, I doubt they'd be part of any merchandise boycott since they've also appeared in Thor and had their own ongoing series. Worst case scenario they're shared characters like Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. Good news for fans of Squirrel Girl, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elhonez Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 Chuck was referring to the 7" Select line in the Q&A... maybe it doesn't carry over to MiniMates? The article referenced also read more like an opinion piece. They seemed to infer from the series cancellation alone that Marvel's 86-ing the four was gospel. It could just mean they're timing a new #1 with the movie's release, right? Or, maybe there's truth to all of it. It's got bad buzz, and if it has no support outside of Fox's promotional budget, perhaps it'll "help the movie fail," driving down the asking price of a potential buy-back by Marvel... Diabolical. [make Diablo please] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pappymojo Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 Maybe minimates are exempt from this whole "cut off your nose to spite your face" business. That said I hope they treat this right as far as a comic story opportunity (same with death of wolverine). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mysterious Stranger Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 There have been rumors about this for months. Apparently Disney and Fox have a "tenuous" relationship so Disney is doing what they can to screw with Fox's Marvel business. This is why you didn't see any Marvel X-Men figures or merchandise this year (beyond the Minimates) which will also affect the Fantastic Four merchandise. They have a much better relationship with Sony which is why they aren't messing with the Spider-man franchise... yet. It will pass with time. The Fantastic Four is too important to Marvel for them not to publish another Fantastic Four comic ever again. If the next movie flops (and from what little I've seen it probably will) then look for F4 comics to return in the following year once the stink of the movie failure has worn off. If it does well then I'd imagine they'll reboot the book to make some money on the hype. But they probably don't want it to succeed so why give Fox the free advertising. Spider-man is basically their corporate logo and the X-Men books make them too much money to cancel so that leaves Fantastic Four as the kid that gets punished. But it will all pass eventually and we'll get some cool toys down the line. There is too much money to be made for them to let this go on too long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterPL Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 From an intellectual property standpoint, so long as Marvel publishes A Fantastic Four comic (even if it's a reprint) within a given time frame, the trademark is protected, I believe. Marvel's been discouraging licensees from offering Fox movie-related merchandise for a while now. The first time I noticed it was for X-Men: First Class. But even then they offered a tie-in guide based on the comic of the same name. I was beginning to think that, going forward, the best we could hope for was comic-based product that ties into Fox's movies (like the Days of Future Past SDCC boxed set) but now that Disney's playing hardball, we may not even get that. I know the Marvel Select Mystique figure was canceled reportedly because Jennifer Lawrence backed out. I can't help wondering if there's more to her decision than we know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffBohn Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 I'll still wonder if there's something involved with the Kirby family undisclosed settlement since that just happened. Something like Marvel is clearing their plates of the FF, then gives the rights for FF back to the Kirby family, and that cancels the Marvel/Fox FF deal, then Marvel turns around and buys the FF back from the Kirbys for an undisclosed sum, or publishes FF via special agreement with the Kirby family. Far fetched and probably not legal or able to happen, but sometimes weird things happen in comics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trekker 42 Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 And Fox can't put out their own movie merchandise? I'm a little murky on how that goes... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glantern Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 Fox's deal is most likely just for movies, so any other type of merchandise wouldn't be covered. Disney/marvel still own the characters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mnemosis Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 (edited) And Fox can't put out their own movie merchandise? I'm a little murky on how that goes...My understanding (take it for what it is worth) is that Fox's deal lets them make a movie based on the characters, but that merchandising deals would have to be approved by Marvel. I have to wonder if this was maybe something they learned AFTER they signed the X-Men deal. The first two movies sold merch, and Marvel may not have seen as big a cut of that revenue as they retroactively would have liked?So now you make the FF deal and you stipulate "we get a day in merchandising." Initially, it's to insure a fair slice of the pie, but now they find themselves in a position to deny Fox merchandising altogether. Or maybe not. Edited October 6, 2014 by Mnemosis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterPL Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 Fox can make merchandise based on their Marvel movies. That's how we got Minimates based on DOFP and The Wolverine. Technically Marvel has approval but they tend to distance themselves, in my experience. The thing is that Fox has never had the kind of robust consumer products division that Disney has had. (Had they held on to the merchandising rights for Star Wars, they'd have had reason to, but I digress...) So yeah, Fox can push Marvel movie product based on their own movies but a cut of that goes to Disney/Marvel. It may not be worth the effort to them since their films aren't as family-friendly as those produced by Marvel Studios. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mnemosis Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 Fox can make merchandise based on their Marvel movies. That's how we got Minimates based on DOFP and The Wolverine. But the X-family deal is separate from the FF deal. They could operate under completely different rules Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterPL Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 True. As I recall, we worked with Marvel on previous FF movie product and Fox had third-party approval back in 2006. I don't recall doing any product for any of the X-Men films. Now there are rumors Fox is working on an X-Men TV series. I guess since Murdoch couldn't buy Time Warner (and DC Entertainment along with it) he's set on making the most of his Marvel properties. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mysterious Stranger Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 True. As I recall, we worked with Marvel on previous FF movie product and Fox had third-party approval back in 2006. I don't recall doing any product for any of the X-Men films. Now there are rumors Fox is working on an X-Men TV series. I guess since Murdoch couldn't buy Time Warner (and DC Entertainment along with it) he's set on making the most of his Marvel properties. There has already been an X-Men TV series... http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0283203/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_24 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mnemosis Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 You're the worst. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterPL Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 There has already been an X-Men TV series... http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0283203/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_24 Which is a lot like saying, "There's already been a Catwoman movie!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mysterious Stranger Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 There has already been an X-Men TV series... http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0283203/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_24 Which is a lot like saying, "There's already been a Catwoman movie!" Hey, I didn't say it was good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pappymojo Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 Could marvel blackball a toy company for working on Fox movie based product against marvels wishes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zexion_Armando Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 When I clicked the link, I assumed it was Generation X, which was also apparently awful Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterPL Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 Could marvel blackball a toy company for working on Fox movie based product against marvels wishes? Could they? Yes. Would they? Depends on the company and how much revenue they generate for Disney/Marvel. The company I work for has been discouraged from offering Fox Marvel product. In the past they've argued it wasn't worth the extra fees and that we'd be better off offering comic product instead. Which is exactly the opposite of what they insist on when a movie like Avengers or Guardians of the Galaxy hits. Then it's, "Promote the movie. Nothing but the movie." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattallica Posted October 7, 2014 Author Share Posted October 7, 2014 and now according to a recent interview with Chris Claremont “There will be no X-Men merchandising for the foreseeable future because, why promote Fox material?” and its not just movie likenesses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterPL Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 Can't say I'm shocked. X-Men is definitely next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winkerbean Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 DST need to crank out more mutants....... fast! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSTZach Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 Series 58, 59 and 60 are all X-Men based. After that, the X-Men are taking a back seat, just due to the nature of what's coming in 2015. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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