Disney owning Marvel means they have a lot of material for new theme park attractions — or do they?
You might note that there have only been a few limited Marvel additions to Disney World. Where Disneyland and Disneyland Paris have gotten Avengers Campus, Disney World has been stuck with just a few Guardians of the Galaxy additions.
Will we see more Marvel in Disney World?
Why don’t we see much Marvel in Disney World?
Ever wondered why we’re not seeing Avengers stroll around Disney World everywhere we look? That’s because Universal actually owns some of the theme park rights of Marvel.
Before Disney owned Marvel, Universal bought the theme park rights under two stipulations: they had to use the intellectual properties to keep the rights, and two separate zones of the country were created where the rights could apply — east and west of the Mississippi River.
As you might know, Universal Orlando has a whole Marvel-themed land with Marvel Super Hero Island. So they’ve retained the theme park rights for any heroes that are represented in the park like Spider-Man, Hulk, and many more. Due to the original stipulations, these rights are only valid east of the Mississippi.
Since Universal Hollywood does not have a Marvel-themed area, Disneyland is able to have Avengers Campus while Universal holds most of the Marvel rights into the east. The only way for Disney to control the Marvel theme park rights is if they buy them from Universal. As far as we know, there is not currently a deal in progress for this to happen.
What about the Marvel characters Disney World can have?
You can see some Marvel heroes in Disney World. We’ve seen events featuring the Guardians of the Galaxy, and Guardians of the Galaxy — Cosmic Rewind is an attraction coming to EPCOT in 2022. That’s because the Guardians aren’t featured in Universal Orlando.
Remember, Universal has to use the rights to keep them. There are a few characters that are big names in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that are not represented at the Universal theme parks. This is also why you might have spotted a Dr. Strange meet and greet in Hollywood Studios.
Could Disney World get more Marvel?
The exact details of the Marvel rights situation remain private, but could we see other heroes that aren’t featured in Universal like Deadpool, Shang-Chi, and The Eternals in Disney World? Maybe!
Otherwise, Disney World is stuck in a bind when it comes to the characters at Universal until some kind of agreement is made between the companies — if they even seek to pursue one.
What Marvel characters would you like to see in Disney World?
Click here to learn more about Avengers Campus!
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Universal dropped the ball on not using Guardians. It was such a hit that they should’ve, at the very least, rethemed Storm Force Accelerator or something just to lay claim to that brand. They could’ve expanded from there. Sometimes I think they only concentrate on Harry Potter and the rest of the lands suffer.