Yes, this is NOT a joke. It is NOT
April Fools. This is very very real. Rob Liefeld the co-founder of
Image Comics and X-Force creator recently tweeted to his followers that
Marvel Entertainment is attempting to undercut any and all support of
the X-Men franchise.
20th Century Fox who owns both the rights to X-Men and Fantastic Four, have not seen any marketing for their merchandise, and apparently it’s all on purpose. X-Men: Days of Future Past is doing very well in the theaters, yet you do not see any toys or X-Men comics being pushed to support the recently released movie. On the other hand, you do see more Spider-Man, Captain America, and very soon Guardians of the Galaxy toys and comic merchandise being distributed heavily.
This is what Rob Liefeld’s tweet conversations consisted of (edited for clarity):
Source: ComicBook.com
20th Century Fox who owns both the rights to X-Men and Fantastic Four, have not seen any marketing for their merchandise, and apparently it’s all on purpose. X-Men: Days of Future Past is doing very well in the theaters, yet you do not see any toys or X-Men comics being pushed to support the recently released movie. On the other hand, you do see more Spider-Man, Captain America, and very soon Guardians of the Galaxy toys and comic merchandise being distributed heavily.
This is what Rob Liefeld’s tweet conversations consisted of (edited for clarity):
X-Men: Days of Future Past will match If not exceed The Amazing Spider-Man 2‘s domestic box office, meaning lots of eyeballs, but there are no toy tie-ins. The Fox shut out is real.It’s not money that matters in this strategy, it’s the hearts and minds of kids/toy buyers, not-too-subtly communicating what’s “important.”Captain America: The Winter Soldier and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 toys everywhere, X-Men – zippo. No promotions from toy aisles. Starve those properties. Makes X-Men [box office] comeback impressive!No emotion in these facts/reporting, it’s just numbers and business. But the messages are clear.X-Men: Days of Future Past toys would get in the way of upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy onslaught of toys.Bottom line, it’s a ballsy move to downgrade properties with high profile, big budget support in favor of stuff you control wholesale. Gotta respect it. And equal respect to those properties slugging it out without equal support across multiple platforms.You gotta understand, I love this stuff!! I love the business of comic films/brands and the unique situation Marvel has with their licenses.My un-informed prediction: Sony will split producing/financing w/Marvel on next Spidey film and open door for inclusion in Avengers 3.
Rob Liefeld predicts that Sony and Marvel could co-finance and co-distribute upcoming Amazing Spider-Man
sequals to cross over into The Avengers. I don’t know about you, but
this is very very very big news for the Marvel Cinematic Universe if the
good ole web-head is going to join forces with Cap, Hulk, Iron Man, and
Thor.
The possibilities of this crossover occurring
now is high since VFX was recently moved to Canada by Sony, and the
lackluster response from the recent Spider-Man movies in the box office;
it looks like Sony might need assistance for their big budget films.
Everyone one of us Marvel movie nerds needs
to hold on to our seats, because the moment Marvel Studios announces
that Spider-Man is going to be in Avengers, is the day that everyone’s
heads explode from complete nerdgasm.
Source: ComicBook.com