Hundreds of films were in development at Fox at the time the company was acquired by Disney. But now, less than a dozen will actually be brought to life.
Since The Walt Disney Company officially acquired 20th Century Fox at the start of this year, we’ve slowly seen the results of that merger, from employee layoffs (fewer than expected so far) to Disney’s announcement of the presence of Fox’s franchises like “The Simpsons” on their soon-to-launch streaming service and at D23 Expo. And while there have been rumors of which Fox films Disney wouldn’t want to be a part of, we now have a clearer idea of what that looks like.
As Comicbook points out, most of the movies that were in development at Fox before the Disney-Fox merger occurred were hardly well-known to fans. Fox dealt with lesser-known foreign, independent, and documentary films, so those accounted for most of the 246 films listed as in development. The list (which you can view completely on Reddit here) also included plenty of sequels to Fox films that fans may not have been as enthusiastic about anyway. Still, Disney is scrapping hundreds of Fox films, leaving only around half a dozen to continue production.

Of course, this doesn’t mean Disney is quitting Fox films altogether. The company announced earlier this week that they have big plans for the intellectual property Disney now has access to thanks to the acquisition, including further developing the “Planet of the Apes” franchise and remaking films like “Home Alone” and “Night at the Museum.”
Fans have mixed opinions regarding Disney’s plans for previously-Fox-owned franchises, but it doesn’t look like fan opinions are weighing heavily on Disney’s decision to get as much out of this merger as possible. After all, with all of the IP Disney now has access to, why would the company continue the development of films that aren’t guaranteed successes? Fan opinions of Disney remakes haven’t stopped the company from producing them, and if we can expect as many live-action remakes of animated Disney classics as the rumors say, we wouldn’t be surprised if we’re going to see just as many remakes of fan-favorite Fox films.
What do you think of Disney’s decision to cut hundreds of Fox films from development? Let us know in the comments!
Source: Comicbook