Update: Disney & Fox apparently closing in on deal; could announce next week

UPDATE: According to CNBC, who has gotten information from people close to the deal, Disney and 21st Century Fox are apparently "closing in" on a deal, and could make an announcement as soon as next week. The anchor also notes that this doesn't mean they are guaranteed to finalize any deal and that Fox is also still talking with Comcast, but that talks between Disney and Fox are indeed very far along. 

Original Story:

Not too long ago, news broke that Disney was in serious negotiations to buy assets of 21th Century Fox, but that the deal had fallen apart some weeks prior. Now it seems that after the news made its way into the world some other companies wanted to try and get in on the action, and in a case of serious taksies-backsies, Disney is once again in discussion to acquire a controlling stake in part of the mega-corporation.

The deal centers around the ownership of the Twentieth Century Fox movie and TV studio, as well as their 39% stake in U.K.-based TV provider Sky, international assets and also their 30% stake in streaming service Hulu. According to the Wall Street Journal, several other companies have since joined in the buying race, including Comcast, Sony’s entertainment division, and Verizon Communications. Though that status of where the latter two companies are at in discussions with TCF is uncertain, Disney and Comcast seem to be deep in conversation with the company.

A key reason why film nerds everywhere had simultaneous aneurysms about this is that TCF owns the rights to several major comic book properties, including X-Men, Fantastic Four and Deadpool. If Disney were to acquire the rights to said franchises, they could all be incorporated into the shared Marvel Cinematic Universe, which famously includes heroes like Iron Man, Thor and Captain America. Seeing the likes of Wolverine and the X-Men fighting alongside (or against?) the Avengers has been the basis of many nerdgasms since the MCU first came into fruition, and now the possibility of it happening it the closest it’s ever been.

But Disney wouldn’t just win the rights to many superhero properties, as the WSJ report also mentions that the company already owns 30% of Hulu (as does Comcast), which would mean that winning the TCF deal would give it a 60% percent stake in the streaming service, having majority control. This could mean more original content for the service all from under the Disney umbrella. In total, the assets are reportedly worth about $48.5 billion (per Variety), and word is the Murdoch family, who owns TCF, is expected to make a decision on whether to go through with the deal by year's end.

Like many of you, I am entirely overwhelmed by the idea of more major heroes coming to the MCU fold. We all lost control of ourselves when Spider-Man entered the fray, so imagine what would happen if all of the X-Men clan came over? If the deal passes we wouldn’t see such a sight for a bit, as the details of the deal need time to be worked out and incorporated. This means movies like X-MEN: DARK PHOENIX, DEADPOOL 2 and even X-FORCE would probably continue as planned, but future Marvel movies could very much see a crossover happening.

Stay tuned to see how all this plays out, and until then just watch the INFINITY WAR trailer again and imagine Wolverine running alongside Captain America.