It’s official: The Walt Disney Company now owns 21st Century Fox and its many assets. The massive Disney-Fox deal has been a little over 16 months in the making, and it’s created as many hype-filled headlines as it has raised major industry-wide concerns. For a while, it seemed like Comcast may take over from the House of Mouse after they offered $65 billion in cash for Fox, but that didn’t stop Disney. Now, the paperwork has been signed and the acquisition has taken place. As of March 20, 21st Century Fox is now a Disney subsidiary after a whopping $71.3 billion offer.

Disney, already one of the most powerful and beloved media entities on the planet, now has near unprecedented control over the entertainment industry, with most experts predicting the acquisition will give them a massive 40% share over the worldwide box office. They’ve already been majority mainstays of the annual lists of the highest grossing movies of any given year (in 2016, for example, 50% of the top 10 highest-grossing films were Disney titles). Now, their might is near indomitable, and that’s only in the world of cinema. The acquisition has also given them major clout in the worlds of television and streaming, not to mention the enviable might of their increased catalog of intellectual properties.

Related: A Complete Timeline Of The Disney-Fox Deal

Considering that 20th Century Fox is one of the oldest studios in Hollywood, their library is extensive and the number of studios under 21st Century Fox means that Disney now has control of some of the biggest properties in film and TV history. What they do with those properties remains to be seen, but they have a lot more at their fingertips now than they ever did before.

Fox Movie Studios Disney Now Owns

The film studio 20th Century Fox is one of Hollywood's most enduring institutions. The company was founded in 1935 after Twentieth Century Pictures, founded by Joseph Schenck and Darryl F. Zanuck (formerly of Warner Bros.) merged with Fox Film. Both studios had been struggling financially and the deal was seen as a way for them to strengthen their might against competitors like MGM and Warner Bros. By the time the company was bought by Mr. Rupert Murdoch of News Corp. in 1985, 20th Century Fox was responsible for some of the most profitable films ever made, including the biggest film of all time in 1977 - Star Wars. In 2012, Murdoch, whose own assets, including publishing, newspapers, animation, and much more, announced that News Corp. would be split into two companies: News Corporation would focus on newspapers and publishing, while 21st Century Fox would operate the entertainment and film side of things.

By the time Disney entered the picture, Fox had built up an impressive foundation of cinematic power. 20th Century Fox as a studio is responsible for some of the most critically and commercially successful films of the past few decades. The franchises they have under their umbrella make up some of the biggest names in pop culture, from Alien and Predator to Planet of the Apes, Kingsman, Independence Day, the first six Star Wars movies, Avatar, Die Hard, and way too many others to count. In terms of film history, Fox’s status is secured, with the two highest grossing films ever - Avatar and Titanic - coming from their studio, and that doesn’t even get into the Marvel properties under Fox’s label, which includes Deadpool, X-Men, and Fantastic Four. Since 1937, the studio has garnered 78 Best Picture Oscar nominations and 12 wins. Four of those wins came from Fox's most prestigious divisions, Fox Searchlight, now also under the Disney banner.

Related: In-Development Fox Movies Likely Cancelled By Disney's Purchase

Fox Searchlight Pictures was founded in 1994 and immediately established itself as one of the premiere distributors of independent cinema. Over the past decade, they have become one of the go-to places for films looking for awards glory, thanks to prize winning hits like Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours, Black Swan, 12 Years a Slave, Birdman, and Brooklyn. Over the past two years, they were responsible, either in part or fully, for Oscar favorites like Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, The Shape of Water, Can You Ever Forgive Me?, and The Favourite. The fate of Fox Searchlight was one of the most feared aspects of this acquisition for film fans. Before the deal went through, producer J. Miles Dale, while giving a speech at the Critics' Choice Awards, urged Disney "not to mess" with the studio, adding, "they're making the kind of movies that we need to make, we want to make, and people need to see."

Other studios under the Fox banner include 20th Century Fox Animation and Zero Day Fox (formerly Fox Digital Studios), which is designed to create content for digital platforms and streaming services, as well as Fox 2000, which recently distributed Love, Simon and The Hate U Give. Unfortunately, Disney has already confirmed that they will be closing down Fox 2000.

Fox TV Studios & Networks Now Owned by Disney

On top of their mighty film industry purchases, the acquisition has given Disney immense control over the world of television. The acquisition comprises the entirety of Fox Television Group’s assets, which includes 20th Century Fox Television, a company that's been operating since 1949, long before they had their own network. Some of the most historically notable Fox TV shows of the past few decades include M*A*S*H, LA Law, and, of course, The Simpsons, which is still on the air today, not to mention Modern Family. Crucially, the acquisition does not include ownership of the FOX channel itself, because that would be illegal under Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules because Disney already owns ABC.

That’s not to say their might is diminished by this problem. They may not own the network itself but they own the studio producing most of their shows. The acquisition does give them ownership of some Fox networks, however, the most notable being FX. The cable network has become one of the top figures in the modern age of "peak TV" thanks to shows like American Horror Story, American Crime Story, Legion, Atlanta, and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. The acquisition also gives Disney the 73% controlling stake Fox owned in National Geographic Partners, which oversees the various National Geographic channels as well as the much celebrated magazine.

Page 2 of 3: Everything Else Disney Owns & Fox Assets They Didn't Acquire

Everything Else Disney Acquired From Fox

While most of the focus on the acquisition has been on the Fox film and television divisions, it's the lesser discussed elements of the deal that present some of the more intriguing angles to all this. Fox Networks Group International, which includes Fox's subsidiaries in Asia, Europe, and Latin America, are part of the acquisition. The Indian media conglomerate Star India, which reaches a reported audience of 720 million viewers a month, is also there, as well as 30% of the shares of the Indian broadcast TV provider, Tata Sky. Disney also now own 50% of Endemol Shine Group, the Dutch-based production and distribution company behind shows like Black Mirror, Peaky Blinders, and the Big Brother franchise. All of this gives Disney a far greater presence in terms of their international output and distribution, something that’s become all the more crucial in a market where the domestic box office is easily overshadowed by that of regions like India and China.

One of the more recognizable purchases in this acquisition is the takeover of Blue Sky Studios. The animation company has been responsible for much of Fox's cartoon content since they were bought by the company in 1997, and is the studio behind the Ice Age and Rio franchises, as well as The Peanuts Movie and the upcoming Spies in Disguise. Given that Disney is home to the most iconic animation studio in Hollywood, as well as a little company called Pixar, it’s no wonder that this acquisition has had many people fearing the future of Blue Sky, a company that's successful but nowhere near on the scale of their competition.

Perhaps the most revealing part of this acquisition has been Disney gaining controlling stakes in streaming service Hulu. After purchasing Fox's 30% stake, Disney now has a 60% stake overall, with AT&T holding 10% and Comcast owning 30%. Disney is already preparing to launch their much discussed solo streaming service Disney Plus, which has raised questions over what exactly the company plans to do with Hulu. It has been reported that Hulu will be the exclusive streaming home for the non-family friendly material that won't have a place on Disney Plus, which has promised to remain stridently PG-13 at the most. So R-Rated films made via Disney's Touchstone Pictures will be Hulu exclusives in terms of streaming.

Fox Assets That Are Being Spun Off Or Divested

Seth MacFarlane in The Orville Season 2 Premiere FOX

There are plenty of things under the vast Fox umbrella that Disney will not own with this acquisition. Indeed, this was such a topic of contention that the U.S. Department of Justice stepped in to ensure certain assets were divested. On June 27, 2018, the United States Department of Justice gave antitrust approval to Disney but only if they agreed to sell Fox's 22 regional sports channels within the first 90 days of the deal closing. They agreed to this deal. The possibility of Disney strengthening their stranglehold over local and nationwide sports coverage worried many people as they already own ESPN. The same thing applies to the Fox Sports Latin America wing.

One of the reasons Comcast dropped their initial bid for Fox was because Disney agreed to sell their stake in Sky to them, with the value of this estimated at around $15 billion. The regional sports network YES (Yankee Entertainment and Sports Network) is another subsidiary Disney has agreed to sell following the acquisition, this time going to a consortium of businesses that includes Amazon. On November 6, 2018, the European Commission ruled that Disney would have to sell the European division of A&E Networks (which includes the History Channel and Lifetime) as part of the acquisition agreement.

For the other elements of Fox that were not part of the deal, they are to be spun off into their own new group, which will be called Fox Corporation. This includes the Fox Broadcasting Company, their major Sports networks, the Fox News and Business Networks, and the legendary 20th Century Fox lot in Los Angeles, although Disney will be leasing that for the time being.

Page 3 of 3: How The Disney-Fox Deal Affects Marvel, Star Wars, & Hollywood

Star Wars Episode IV A New Hope Mark Hamill Sir Alec Guinness

How This Affects Marvel & Star Wars

For many casual movie-goers and geeks, the most prominent part of this overwhelming acquisition will be the fate of two of the biggest film franchises on the planet: Marvel and Star Wars. That makes sense given how this is the part that will directly impact, or at least be the most visible to the most people. The machinations of media conglomerates garner a lot less headlines than whether Deadpool will join the Avengers. Still, it means something when the biggest and most profitable film franchise of all time now has the opportunity to play around with the full deck of characters, so to speak. Disney and Marvel Studios didn’t need the X-Men or Fantastic Four to become the titans they are today, but having the chance to include them certainly doesn’t hurt, especially when their brand is built on completionism.

The immediate benefit of this deal for Marvel Studios is that they now have every Marvel character under their control for cinematic purposes (Sony still owns Spider-Man but made a deal with Disney to include him in the MCU). That means that, inevitably, we will get X-Men and Fantastic Four films or television series as part of the wider cinematic universe. How long it will take to get such things is unknown, especially since Fox technically still has two of their own Marvel movies to release, Dark Phoenix and The New Mutants (and there have already been plenty of rumors swirling that the latter could become a streaming exclusive, bypassing theatrical distribution altogether). The fate of Deadpool is less certain given Disney’s dedication to never releasing R-rated movies under their own name, although the Once Upon a Deadpool experiment did prove a cheeky PG-13 version of the character could work in some capacity. However, Marvel’s next phase is already planned out for the next couple of years and inserting three of their most iconic ensembles into the intricately planned universe a decade into its run isn’t the most enviable task in Hollywood.

Related: What The Fox/Disney Deal Means For Marvel's Future

A lesser discussed element of the acquisition is what this means for Star Wars. Even after Disney took over Lucasfilm and acquired everything Star Wars, they never gained distribution rights to the original version of A New Hope. This is because George Lucas, when he signed up to make the film, did so completely under Fox's ownership and not that of Lucasfilm. While he had full ownership of merchandising and sequel rights in this deal, given in place of a director's fee, he didn't own A New Hope outright so neither could Disney. That's all changed now, so expect the full franchise box set in the near future.

What Does The Disney/Fox Deal Mean For Hollywood?

Much has been said on how this acquisition will impact Hollywood at large and it's easy to get overwhelmed with the sheer amount of possibilities and information out there, but there's a reason the Disney-Fox deal has been viewed with such overwhelming unease since its announcement. The most immediate effect is job losses. As reported by Variety, layoffs have already hit Fox and "there could be as many as 4,000 jobs cut in the merger." Some estimates have that number much higher but such things are tough to accurately predict so early in the process.

The ramifications of such an immense media monopoly are pretty scary. It’s bad for creators, who could have less creative freedom and less places to pitch their work (as well as the difficulty imposed in terms of trying to unionize under such pressure). It’s bad for audiences, who will have less choices as Disney won’t want to make too much Fox related content for fear of competing with themselves. It’s bad for theater owners, who have already been stifled by Disney’s very strict requirements for screening their films, including lower cuts of ticket sales and penalties if they don’t follow the studio’s rules to the letter. (This became a significant issue for independent theaters and smaller theater chains with Star Wars: The Last Jedi.)

Related: The Really Bad Effects Of The Disney-Fox Deal, Explained

The Disney-Fox deal is also bad for press, who have already seen the wrath of Disney in action when newspapers pushed back against them and they tried to revoke access like they briefly did with the Los Angeles Times. It’s bad for businesses, who can only dream of trying to compete with a company that looks set to control about 40% of the international box office. Disney was already a nigh unbeatable force in Hollywood but this acquisition has made them an even mightier presence, both in Hollywood and internationally. In a market where media monopolies are the new norm and the divides of power become lesser with each passing year, Disney’s acquisition of Fox stands as a foreboding reminder of how so much influence over the pop culture and media we consume is wielded by a mere handful of people, and whether audiences are aware of it or not, that will ultimately impact everyone.