While comic book fandom is elated at the news that the Disney-Fox merger is, in essence, a done deal, there are many in the film industry shaking in their boots. Not because the idea of a “Super Studio” is that scary, which it actually might be anyway, but because if you are one of the thousands that work at the studios, you could be out of a job. And if the Wall Street Journal is accurate, even if you’re signed on to make a movie for Fox, there’s no guarantee the studio will even exist next year.
Let’s take a step back and discuss this a little more in depth. Disney and Fox are expected to get all the clearances and legal hurdles out of the way by sometime in the first half of 2019. At that point, Disney is anticipating merging the two companies, and since there is a lot of overlap in departments, this means the merger will lead to massive layoffs. Like potentially in the thousands.
In a new report from WSJ, the layoffs are just one of the concerns in Hollywood about the impending mega-merger. The report claims that there could be a big exodus of employees in later this month after fiscal year is over and bonuses are handing out. No one wants to stick around on the sinking ship and risk having trouble finding a job in the future. To combat the exodus, Fox is attempting to hurry and sign some people to new contracts, but either way, there could be some massive shakeups, even before the ink has dried on the merger.
And on the production side, things look even more grim than many were anticipating. WSJ says the folks at Fox are unsure if the studio will even exist post-merger or if it’ll be dissolved. However, Disney expects to release and finish production on anything that is completed or filming by the time the merger is finalized. But if you’re not in front of cameras before then, the project could be in limbo.
READ MORE: Disney-Fox Merger: What Does It Mean For The Big Film Franchises?
As many expected, Disney isn’t interested in moving into the R-rated territory, so any film that is not deemed “family-friendly” could find itself on the chopping block. Possible victims of this could include the James Mangold-directed “Ford vs. Ferrari” film and a trio of horror movies that Fox has in development.
Any film that is being developed that does fit in the Disney mold should be safe, barring any other unforeseen circumstances. The guaranteed safe bets are the franchises that the studio is inheriting, such as the Marvel projects and “Avatar.”
Disney is also expected to save the subsidiary studios of Fox, such as Fox Searchlight and Fox 2000. The main reason for these two to be safe is the fact that Disney CEO Bob Iger seems keen on keeping the prestigious Searchlight and thinks that the Fox 2000 releases such as “Love, Simon” could be integrated into the Disney fold.
All that being said, what about the fact that Fox is currently bidding on future projects as if they’re going to survive. But unfortunately, agents and producers are reading the writing on the wall and beginning to remove Fox from their list of possible partners. “People are making an effort to include [Fox] out of respect, but it’s not anyone’s first choice because you don’t know what the studio is going to be,” said one movie agent.
Even with all this uncertainty, Fox is acting as if it’s business as usual. In fact, on the animation side, the studio is developing feature films based on “Bob’s Burgers,” “Family Guy,” and “The Simpsons.” This would mean a potential sequel to the hit ‘Simpsons’ film, and in the case of “Family Guy,” the studio is looking at a live-action/animated hybrid. So, maybe, just maybe, these films will survive.
Either way, it appears that the excitement felt by many is going to turn into unease in the coming months, as this unprecedented merger begins to really take shape.
