How to fix the superhero theme park gridlock

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]Spider-Man is now going to appear in a Disney-Marvel film!

It’s a huge move for Sony, which has relinquished a bit of creative control for the greater good of this massive property they hold the movie rights to. By doing so, Sony is giving the fans what they truly want to see, and this will breathe new life into the character.

It’s great to see these team ups and partnerships happening on the movie level.

But how about with the theme parks?

There’s a Spider-Man ride at Universal Islands of Adventure, but Marvel is now owned by Disney, which is in direct theme park competition with Universal. If Universal were to expand its Marvel presence in Orlando, wouldn’t that just be free promotion for Disney? And if Universal doesn’t evolve its Marvel presence, won’t that section of the park eventually become stagnate?

There’s a lot of corporate bureaucracy in play with these parks, but Sony has shown us there are creative ways rival studios can work together for the betterment of all. Couldn’t the same be said for the parks? Absolutely. How can we make this work?

Let’s first sum up what’s going on behind the scenes.

Theme Park Insider provides a detailed explanation of which parks own which rights to the superhero properties:

http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201307/3558/

Basically, it plays out like this:

•  Disney owns Marvel and the rights to the characters.

•  Universal has theme park rights to the Marvel characters “east of the Mississippi,” in other words, Orlando, as well as Japan. Disney owns the rights for everywhere else in the world.

•  Warner Bros. owns the rights to the characters of DC Comics, i.e. Superman, Batman, Justice League.

•  Six Flags has the rights to use the DC Comics characters in its parks.

What does all this mean?

Superhero theme park gridlock.

Marvel Superhero Island is an entire “land” that was built at Universal Islands of Adventure before Disney’s purchase of Marvel. As mentioned, the popular The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man 3D attraction is found here as well as The Incredible Hulk Coaster and other Marvel properties.

Right now, there doesn’t appear to be any urgency for Universal to make changes to this land. Just because Disney now owns Marvel doesn’t mean they need to close down a popular ride just for the sake of it.

But where can Universal really go with its Marvel concept in the future? They don’t have the ability to use the actors nor their likenesses from the Disney-Marvel movie incarnations. You won’t see Robert Downey, Jr.’s Iron Man making an appearance at Islands of Adventure. Technically, Universal could do an Iron Man ride, and make the character cartoony, straight out of the comics, as they do with their Spider-Man ride. But to build a new Iron Man attraction and not be able to use Downey, Jr. would feel like a cheap knock-off.

Universal, right now, is having a theme park renaissance on the heels of the success of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and it doesn’t like thinking of itself as having to play second fiddle to anyone. We can probably assume, therefore, there are no plans in any foreseeable future to add a new Marvel ride to Islands of Adventure. This means this section of the park remains stagnate while other areas of the park have the freedom to grow. Over the long term, this just isn’t going to fly.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Universal acquires theme park rights to another huge movie property and use that as a justification to completely transform Marvel Superhero Island into something fresh, new and exciting. The Spider-Man ride can be repurposed into an all new experience themed to this new concept just as Back to the Future, the Ride became The Simpsons Ride.

What could that new “island” be?

Well, if Marvel is out, you may ask, how about DC?

It certainly seems like a no-brainer, doesn’t it?

With Disney and Marvel on one side, with Universal competing with Disney, with Warner Bros. having a synergetic relationship with Universal at the parks already (Wizarding World of Harry Potter), and with Warner Bros. owning the DC characters, having Henry Cavill Superman and Ben Affleck Batman anchor an all-new DC Superhero Island feels right.

This is what should happen.

Unfortunately, we have a third player throwing a wrench in the machinery, and that’s Six Flags, which has theme park rights to the DC characters. By all appearances, this is with a solid enough deal in place to take them well into the 2020’s.

Universal has the might, and the creative ability, to more easily transform its lands, rides, and attractions with enough incentive. Six Flags does not. Despite the competition, I could actually see Universal and Disney coming to an agreement more easily than Universal and Six Flags.

Six Flags simply doesn’t have the resources for a nationwide re-theming of its parks, most of which, if not all, incorporate DC characters in some way.

Just look at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, CA. Doing away with DC means having to re-theme Batman: The Ride, Riddler’s Revenge, Superman: Escape from Krypton, Green Lantern: First Flight, and Lex Luthor: Drop of Doom. I can’t see Six Flags spending a massive sum of money to acquire another property for a re-theme. And quite frankly, for Six Flags, there is no greater time to reap the benefits of having the rights than right now, when the DC Universe is about to explode on screen in a bold new way.

Six Flags may not be able to use Henry Cavill and Ben Affleck, but they can certainly capitalize on the iconic nature of these characters to bolster their own park attendance.

To overcome this gridlock, here’s what needs to happen, in my perfect theme park world…

UNIVERSAL ISLANDS OF ADVENTURE – ORLANDO, FL

•  Six Flags is compensated monetarily to allow Universal to acquire theme park rights to the DC characters in Orlando and in all territories where Universal exists where Six Flags does not. This paves the way for Islands of Adventure to transform Marvel into an expanded “DC Superhero Island.”

•  The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man becomes something like AQUAMAN AND THE ESCAPE FROM ATLANTIS, converting the current ride vehicles into “underwater pods” that take riders on a thrilling sensory journey beneath the sea.

•  The Incredible Hulk Coaster becomes THE FLASH COASTER with a bright new red and yellow coaster color scheme to boot.

•  BATMAN v SUPERMAN becomes the all-new, mega-budget, state-of-the-art, massive attraction serving as the anchor, and justification, for this land transformation. Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill are prominently featured as the heroes that do battle with themselves, and more dangerous enemies, in an unparalleled new theme park experience.

•  DC Superhero Island does away with the 2-dimensional facades and emphasis on the cartoon-aspect of the comics in favor of a true flesh-and-blood location, with rides and attractions based on the Warner Bros. movie versions of the product.

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOLLYWOOD

•  With Six Flags Magic Mountain only 30 minutes from Universal Studios Hollywood, we need to be more creative with how rights are distributed to incentivize both parks. For that monetary compensation, Six Flags allows Universal to incorporate non-roller coaster attractions based on DC characters in it’s Hollywood park.  By agreeing to this, Universal couldn’t build a bigger, better version of Batman the Ride at their park, for example. Here, toes aren’t stepped on. Universal Studios Hollywood doesn’t appear to want to be in the traditional roller coaster game, nor will Six Flags ever deliver an immersive multi-sensory ride experience like Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. Guests won’t be discouraged to go to Six Flags because they’re headed to that park for the coasters, and because Six Flags can’t tap into the movie version with their rights, Universal has a clear path should it choose to incorporate the DC Universe into Hollywood in the future.

SIX FLAGS

•  Business as usual, with more padding in the wallet. The parks remain unaffected and are still allowed to theme rides and attractions based on DC characters.

WALT DISNEY WORLD – ORLANDO, FL

•  I wonder if Universal retains the rights to Marvel if it removes Marvel’s presence entirely in its parks. Could they build DC Superhero Island and still prevent Disney from including Marvel in Orlando? If so, we’re at a stand-still that would probably take a whole chunk of change to incentivize Universal to budge. If not, Universal may want to “let this one go.” I don’t see them maintaining a decaying Marvel Superhero Island out of principle to prevent Disney from utilizing their property in their Orlando parks. Universal would get far more mileage out of its synergy with Warner Bros. by introducing an entirely new, and much more relevant, superhero theme park experience.

Should this happen, and should Universal relinquish their control, Disney would most certainly seize the opportunity to open an all-new Marvel Land, perhaps as an extension to their Tomorrowland, or as an entirely new section of Disney Hollywood Studios.

THE DISNEYLAND RESORT – ANAHEIM, CA

•  In Southern California, Disney is clearly going to move full speed ahead on a Marvel presence in its parks as soon as it is ready. Rumors are already swirling about the Innoventions building inside Tomorrowland being more permanently repurposed as a dedicated superhero meet and greet location. At Disney California Adventure, what was once going to be Rock n’ Roller Coaster in the Hollywood Studios section of the park is now rumored to become a superhero-themed roller coaster located inside a Marvel “mini-land.” These are the rumors, neither are particularly overwhelming.

•  To match the massive success of the films, Marvel is deserving of its own true land, built on an epic scale on par with Cars Land. If they can’t find any room nor a thematic purpose at Disneyland or California Adventure, to do Marvel proper justice, this would be the perfect opportunity to green light a 3rd Gate in Anaheim, with Marvel becoming one of the key lands with unlimited potential.

The parks now face a gridlock that is stifling the creative potential for these superheroes to find their proper homes inside the right theme parks. To overcome it, Disney, Universal, Six Flags, and Warner Bros. are going to have to work together. If everyone can relinquish a little bit of control for the greater good, just as Sony did with Spider-Man, then all could reap huge benefits in the years to come. Let’s hope this happens.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]