Hollywood What If Chapter 554
"Are we cooked?"
Robert "Bob" Iger talked to himself. Walt Disney's situation was not bad, but also not that good. Especially in live-action movies, they had a hard time penetrating the market. At the moment, the only relevant franchises Walt Disney had were Chronicles of Narnia and National Treasure. Except for that, they had nothing.
Still, their situation was not that bad if you compared it to Sony-Columbia, which was still clinging to the past glory of Spider-Man.
After the trilogy ended, Sony-Columbia was having a hard time finding a profitable franchise.
"I heard that Sony-Columbia is interested in rebooting the Spider-Man franchise."
Bob muttered.
He leaned back in his chair, deep in thought.
A Spider-Man reboot? It made sense. Sony-Columbia was desperate for a hit, and Spider-Man was still one of the most recognizable superheroes in the world. But reboots were risky. Audiences had just seen Tobey Maguire's trilogy conclude. Would they accept a new actor so soon?
Perhaps Sony-Columbia had to rest Spider-Man for a few years before restarting the franchise.
Anyway, Disney had its own problems to solve.
Pixar was still dominant in animation, but their live-action division needed a true blockbuster franchise.
Chronicles of Narnia and National Treasure had done well, but they lacked the pop culture dominance of Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, or even Fox's Game of Thrones.
"If only we had Marvel…" Bob sighed.
To be fair, Michael Eisner was still in control of Walt Disney when Marvel Comics was acquired by News Corporation, so Bob couldn't even interfere with the acquisition.
"If only we had Grey Pictures..." He sighed again.
As for Grey Pictures, Michael Eisner fought for the acquisition but failed.
These were just wishful thinking. He couldn't return to the past and change history.
But what if…?
What if he could travel back in time and change the course of history?
"Heh, I'd probably be the most influential person in Hollywood."
The idea made him laugh. Unfortunately, there was no What If. Or perhaps only a few lucky people could get the opportunity to experience that What If. After all, not everyone could get a second chance in life.
Even though Walt Disney's current situation seemed sad, the studio was still recognized as one of the best studios in Hollywood. Walt Disney and Warner Brothers were still vying for the number one spot every year. Walt Disney didn't fall off.
Furthermore, the acquisition of Lucasfilm was progressing positively. Although it might take years, Bob Iger was confident that Lucasfilm would fall into the hands of Walt Disney.
As for the fans, their opinions didn't matter.
Hollywood had a motto: "Fuck the fans! They can suck dick all they want."
Fans of Star Wars were fucked in the ass, figuratively, of course.
Minecraft fans suffered badly because of the bad adaptation.(Author's Note: My bad, this chapter was written before the Minecraft movie was released and I'm now changing my opinion.)
DC fans had a stroke, figuratively, of course.
The Last Airbender fans had a lobotomy because the adaptation was shit, figuratively, of course.
These were just some examples of how Hollywood never gave a fuck about the opinions of the fanbase. Perhaps this was also one of the reasons why people lost interest in Hollywood in the 2020s.
Bob Iger smirked to himself. Walt Disney actually loved fucking around with the fans, to the point that the fans wanted to slam their heads against the wall.
Why? Because these fans could never affect the decisions of Hollywood, no matter how much they protested. After all, fans were just a mindless source of profit from their perspective. No matter how ugly the movies they produced, fans would still watch them.
Sonic trilogy was a miracle because the production team listened to the fans.
Hollywood had a long history of disregarding fan expectations, yet the industry still thrived. People might complain, but they still bought tickets. This was the ugly truth.
However, everyone knew that times were changing. The internet was getting influential. The presence of television and newspapers was getting weaker. Hollywood needed to adjust... But from the looks of it, Hollywood would never give a fuck.
"No matter what the fanbase of Star Wars and Indiana Jones say, they can't prevent the acquisition. They just need to sit still and eat the shit we are going to feed them."
Lucasfilm was a priority, but Disney needed more. They needed something to break through the market.
They couldn't rely on animation forever. If they wanted to dominate Hollywood, they needed a game-changer.
"Sigh… I've been sighing a lot lately."
Bob Iger was stressed. There were a lot of factors why he was stressed, such as work-related stuff and seeing a rival company having a successful movie.
He looked at the newspaper on his table and sighed.
As of November 7:
The Equalizer 2 grossed $492 million worldwide.
Wanted 3 grossed $702 million worldwide.
These two movies were produced by Grey Pictures and distributed by 20th Century Fox. Based on their box office numbers, Grey Pictures and 20th Century Fox were going to make money.
But this was not the main reason why Bob Iger was sighing.
He turned the next page and found an article about The Dark Knight.
The Dark Knight officially grossed $1 billion as of November 7! Obviously, Warner Brothers would outrank them again this year.
Bob Iger pinched the bridge of his nose. He wanted to sigh, but that would only make him more depressed.
Warner Brothers had done it again. The Matrix, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and now The Dark Knight!
The Dark Knight wasn't just a success, it was a phenomenon all over the world.
Audiences and critics were praising it as one of the greatest films ever made.
Meanwhile, Walt Disney was still struggling to break into the live-action movie market.
"This is not fair. The Dark Knight is too strong."
He knew what this meant. Warner Brothers would defeat them.
They would control the superhero market in Hollywood. And worst of all, they had a foothold in the superhero genre, something Walt Disney desperately lacked.
"We need our own billion-dollar franchise," Bob said to himself.
The question was, could they even get one?