Does Disney own 'Avatar'?

[KayMichigan]

Hi, all -

I'm a bit confused as to why Disney has Avatar-themed attractions in their park. As far as I know, Avatar isn't connected to Disney in any way.

Does anyone know how this worked out?

 

[StageTek]

Disney does not own Avatar. The rights are owned by Lightstorm Entertainment and Fox Filmed Entertainment.

The short version is Bob Iger and Tom Staggs approached James Cameron with the idea of an "Avatar" based land. An agreement was made giving Lightstorm, Fox and Cameron a licensing fee and a cut of merchandise.

 

[BrianL]

Yes, it's similar to how they had Star Wars in the parks before they actually owned it. It's just a licensing deal. However, if the Disney acquisition of Fox goes through, then they will own Fox's stake in the movie and any future films in the series. It is probably one of the reasons they want Fox so badly (though not as much as they want the extant Marvel and Star Wars rights that Fox still holds).

 

[KayMichigan]

OK, thanks for the info! That explains it! I suspect one day one company will just own everything. It'll be either Disney or Amazon...