I find this really odd considering "The Incredible Hulk" is a Universal movie. In fact, almost every attraction in IOA that has a movie out or coming soon (Grinch, Cat in the Hat, Jurassic Park, Dudley Do-Right, even Rocky & Bullwinkle, if we ever get THAT attraction!) was/is a Universal production. ("Popeye" was so long ago, it doesn't count.)
The only oddball in the group is "X-Men," which gets even odder. Universal did the X-Men cartoon, yet with that and Storm Force in Marvel Super Hero Island, they didn't release the movie?
I did some research and it gets even more complicated. Fox, which released X-Men, has two other Marvel biggies in production: The Silver Surfer and The Fantastic Four. Their deadline for both those licenses is up. If no movies appear, then someone else can grab them.
That someone else could be Artisan. You know, the "Blair Witch" people? They currently have around ten Marvel licenses they plan on bringing to the screen. I hadn't heard of any of them, so they are all apparently smaller names. Still, any budget over about $20 million and Artisan will need help from a big studio. Will Universal step up?
Here is a weird bit of trivia: Apparently Dr Doom has been in the comic book of every other attraction in Marvel Super Hero Island. He debuted in The Fantastic Four but made appearances in The Incredible Hulk, Spider-Man and X-Men. He will be the villain in "The Fantastic Four" which will be Fox, which means he could still show up in an X-Men sequel, but will never show up in a Spidey or Hulk movie.
Anyhow, the point of all this blathering is:
1) Why didn't Universal get the Spidey, X-Men and Fantastic Four licenses? I think the arrangement with Fox came before the IOA agreement, so I can understand the last two. But what happened with Spidey? Actually, I want to know how two studios got the vast majority of the licenses while two others got all of one apiece? Does anyone know because I think this is really odd!
2) How will "Spider-Man" tie in with Spider-Man? Will IOA benefit from the movie AT ALL? I was hoping if the movie was fantastic that it would get some people into the park, but it doesn't seem like the two will ever link now. My suggestion to Universal would be to start airing IOA commercials advertising the Spidey attraction right after the movie starts.
Does anyone else have any more info on this?
Indeed, many of Universal's attractions are based on films and shows produced by other studios. Nickelodeon and Barney come to mind from Universal Studios Florida, for example.
Today's appropriate cliche: The devil is in the details. Has Universal cut a deal with Columbia to promote the movie to park visitors, and to promote the ride and Islands of Adventure to movie-goers?
If they never considered it, they are idiots. If one side wouldn't cut a deal 'cause they didn't like the terms -- which is the more likely explanation if this doesn't happen -- both sides will have missed a highly profitable opportunity. The buzz on this flick is money, folks.
There's the movie version, several different animated series versions and several different comic book versions!
The Spiderman, X-men, and Hulk of IOA are based on the basic, original versions of these characters. Design wise, especially in Spiderman, because the characters are all animated, I'd say they have the most in common with the main Spiderman animated series from the 90's. Not that I am very familiar with that, but the animation style seems to be similar.
The ride is based on the character od Spiderman which is owned by Marvel comics. It is not Spider The Movie Ride, but it is just simply Spiderman..more or less the basic, generic version.
Universal will surely promote their Hulk film in their parks, but the Hulk rollar coaster will still not be based on the Hulk movie but on a generic version of the Hulk, same as Spiderman.
Universal did a neat thing with The Grinch in that they actually had the Grinch of the motion picture in the park, and they had actual props from the movie...it would be neat if they did something like this for the Hulk.
And here is the problem, you have the Green Goblin and SPiderman walking around in their costumes which are literal translations form the original comic book incarnations...now if you had the Green Goblin in his costume from the movie walking around it would get too confusing for people.
In the end, I think the marvel characters of IOA are in their own self contained universe. Ignore the comics, cartoons and movies when you come to IOA. All of the useful information about Spiderman exists only in the ride and in the IOA Marvel comic book adaption which is sold there.
So, for example, say Men in Black 2 eats it. Does anyone think it would affect USF? Would it keep them from adding it to USH, which desperately needs it? A good movie can definitely increase the desirability of an attraction, but does the converse actually work? I think it probably doesn't, as long as the attraction comes long before or long after it. Like Twister!
Terminator just plain has me stumped, though! Aw, well, I can't get all of them all the time...
And if MIB2 bombs out, which I'm almost very confident that it won't, then I'm sure the ride won't see the light of day in Hollywood, unfortunately...
Oh, hey, guys! Been a while, hasn't it?
But the Speilberg connection is making more and more sense now. It really makes my idea of a Dreamworks Studios Park (run by Universal of course) seem more and more like a slam dunk, though, don't it?
But I guess you could consider that *fire* coming out of the mouth instead....
