AHC: Disney Owns DC Comics and Star Trek

[Nevermore]

Earlier this month, on leaving the theater after seeing Spider-Man: Homecoming and discussing what we thought Star Wars Episode VIII was going to be like, a friend of mine remarked offhandedly, "You know, somewhere across the multiverse, there's a world where Disney owns DC and Star Trek instead."

So that got me thinking...

With a POD no earlier than 1969 when Star Trek: TOS goes off the air, what is the best opportunity for The Walt Disney Company to own both DC Comics and the rights to the Star Trek franchise? My initial gut reaction would be that sometime in the '70s during their financial woes Warner Communications decides to sell off DC to Disney as that seems to me the easiest POD for such a sale. Of course, I'd be interested if anyone were aware of later dates that this might be possible though I'd imagine it gets more difficult once Ted Turner and his attempts at building a media empire become involved with Warner.

The harder nut to crack I'd imagine is wresting Star Trek away from Paramount. It was a consistent cash cow for them so I can't imagine that they'd be willing to part with it all that easily (and Disney would likely need a television network to support any new ventures they make with the property). Does anyone know of any good PODs that could result in Paramount collapsing or at least being forced to sell their assets after declaring a bankruptcy?

 

[Tales Weaver]

Desilu is sold to disney instead of paramount. And later, disney buys DC comics.

 

[star lord 7]

As long as Disney did the same thing they did with Marvel as far as hiring a person who controls the overall story arcs (Kevin Feige for Marvel and Pablo Hidalgo for Star Wars), this would be nothing but good for an alt-DC Universe/alt-Trek cinema series.

 

[Miss Teri]

I was going to do a DBWI (still might), with the idea of Marvel and DC switching ownership. For DC's case, it's never bought out by Kinney National, and instead is passed around from owner to owner, until Disney (mostly likely in the 70's) was going to buy it as its own comic publisher.

 

[GullibleCynic]

There has been some threads on combining the two in the past. Not usually under Disney, but why not?

https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/star-trek-batman-challange.252950/

Knowing fan reactions, it might be possible to do some canon welding that becomes official. Star Trek history could end up referring to an 'age of heros', find the remains of krypton, and have the various aliens of both franchises co-exist. This would undoubtedly effect Star Trek more than DC simply due to the timelines, and while it might be interesting, it might not be better. TNG could easily be unrecognizable, if it was even still made.

My point is, put two things under the same roof long enough and there is bound to be some cross-pollination. Something to think about.

 

[thekingsguard]

Disney would do wonderful things with DC Comics. For one, unlike Warner Bros, they are unlikely to let Superman just rot on the vine for the past generation like they have, so DC will be more than just Batman.

I could see jokes about Wonder Woman being a Disney Princess in the same way we joke that Leia is a Disney Princess.

All in all, Disney would be a LOT more willing to use a lot of DC properties much earlier than WB had been for anything non-Batman related.

Star Trek on the other hand, is a bit harder. Star Wars is kind of a natural fit for Disney - it's another franchise with a large kid fanbase, while Star Trek trends more towards adults.