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Six More Sci-Fantasy Franchises Disney Could Save…

Yes, it’s another Disney/Lucas article. There’s going to be more.

Disney-Pixar-Marvel-Muppet-Lucasfilm has already announced its plans for STAR WARS EPISODE VII in 2015, with VIII and XI not long after that, not to mention staggering crossover potential. Han Solo and Chewbacca in GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, anyone?

And now that Disney has Pixar and Industrial Light and Magic on the payroll, they’ve no excuse at all for substandard special effects. (I’m looking at you, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull…)

With the creative controls now out of Lucas’ hands, (pause for cheering and applause) we can hopefully expect some improvement, but it got us thinking. What other ailing SF franchises could benefit from a Disney buy-out? It certainly didn’t seem to hurt the guys and gals at Marvel or Pixar…

THE MATRIX?

The first one was great. The other two… got too bogged down with their own mythology and convoluted plot. A decade on, it might be time to dust it off and take another look. (Someone’s going to eventually.) But, will it be Disney?

Well, seeing as the series was distributed by Warner Brothers, the odds of the House of Mouse financing another jaunt into the Matrix is unlikely. And, well, Disney has already done The Matrix. Actually they got there first. Seventeen years earlier in fact. They called it TRON, which didn’t turn out that badly itself.


TRANSFORMERS?

While the three (going on FOUR) Michael Bay movies have performed well at the box office and arguably given the franchise a well-needed kick up the tailpipe… well, even the most forgiving TFan will concede, they could do better.

It’s simple really: Get Pixar doing the robots and bring in some veteran voice actors. Make it less about the spectacle and more about the characters. Something Michael Bay never quite managed. They could also greatly improve any TF movie by hiring the writers/cast of TRANSFORMERS PRIME.

Disney has actually been dealing with TakaraTomy [The Japanese producer of Transformer toys] for a while now, with their ingeniously-named “Disney Label”.

No, seriously.

 

TERMINATOR?

With the underrated TERMINATOR SALVATION not quite cutting the mustard, the rights to the franchise have been offline in Hollywood limbo for the last couple of years. The Governator himself has hinted he’d be interested in starring (even if he is maybe a tad too old…) and any future film may or may not continue on from SALVATION.

If Disney were to take a shot, they have their own back catalogue of time travel tales to fall back on. FLIGHT OF THE NAVIGATOR, MEET THE ROBINSONS, THE KID, A CHRISTMAS CAROL, PRINCE OF PERSIA…

Okay, not all of them have been successful, or even that good, but it’s a start.

I now have the mental image of a Terminator with the voice and personality of Pee-Wee Herman.
See ya later, Terminator, hahah!

INDIANA JONES?

Personally, I liked CRYSTAL SKULL. I thought it was brave that they acknowledged their star was a little older and the change from wartime pulp to 50s B-movie felt like a natural progression, but the effects were a little ropey and it didn’t really live up to expectations. The fact that almost the entire fanbase was gunning for it from the start didn’t help matters, of course.

In any case, the rights to Dr Henry Jones II’s (or even III’s) next adventure are kind-of up in the air; Disney owns the property, but Paramount still holds certain rights to any future film…

 

ALIEN?

Okay, yes, PROMETHEUS did well financially and critically, but the jury’s still out whether it counts as an ALIEN movie or not. Generally speaking, Disney aren’t really known for sci-fi- horror, but THE BLACK HOLE had its moments of body horror, and, let’s face it, some many Disney movies are fucking scary. If they put their minds to it, Disney could make the scariest horror movie the world has ever seen, and still pass it off as a “kid’s movie”.

Considering the lacklustre performance of the last “canon” movie, ALIEN RESURRECTION, and let’s not bother to consider ALIEN Vs PREDATOR, the franchise might just profit from a Disney once-over.

Or, alternatively, they could just stump up the cash for a FARSCAPE reunion. Baby D’Argo must be getting big by now.

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN

Seriously, Disney need to get their act together on that one.

In any case, we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Let’s just sit back and wait to see what Buy’N’Large The Walt Disney Company makes of STAR WARS VII.

Shame “A New Hope” has been taken as a title, eh?

2 Comments

2 Comments

  1. Bonus storm

    Dec 26, 2012 at 4:11 am

    Transformers is a blight on American cinema and Crystal Skull was unwatchable.

  2. Brandon

    Feb 6, 2013 at 4:53 am

    I don’t think terminator spells out family fun.

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