Disney CEO, Bob Iger, has revealed that the studio once considered Marvel “too edgy” to purchase.
The acquisition of Marvel by Disney is certainly one of the most fruitful purchases in entertainment history, with the MCU finding incredible success with fans and at the box office.
We have now learned that Disney actually considered buying Marvel earlier on but decided against it because Marvel was considered to be a little too edgy for the family-friendly studio. This comes straight from Bob Iger, the CEO of Disney, in his new memoir (via ComicBook.com):
“This wasn’t the first time Marvel had been on Disney’s radar. Early in my time working for Michael Eisner, I attended a staff lunch in which he floated the idea of acquiring them. A handful of executives around the table objected. Marvel was too edgy, they said. It would tarnish the Disney brand. There was an assumption at the time — internally, and among members of the board — that Disney was a single, monolithic brand, and all of our businesses existed beneath the Disney umbrella. I sensed Michael knew better, but any negative reaction to the brand, or suggestion that it wasn’t being managed well, he took personally.”
It all worked out in the end, of course (the MCU has grossed an astonishing $22.6 billion in total), but it’s interesting to hear how hesitant some of the Disney executives were in the past. Obviously, the right people changed their minds by 2009 and move history was made.
