Disney has made the decision to drop the Fox name and rebrand the 21st Century Fox assets it acquired last year.
After months of speculation, the House of Mouse confirmed on March 12, 2019 the $71.3 billion acquisition of large chunks of 21st Century Fox, including its film and TV studio.
Now, it has been revealed that Disney have dropped the ‘Fox’ name. 20th Century Fox film studio will become 20th Century Studios, and Fox Searchlight Pictures will become simply Searchlight Pictures, according to Variety.
In the same report, it said that no final decisions have been made on the TV side of things, meaning there were no plans to change the monikers of production units 20th Century Fox Television and Fox 21 Television Studios, but there are discussion taking place about a possible name change.
On the poster for Searchlight’s next movie Downhill, starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Will Ferrell, the credits begin with “Searchlight Pictures Presents.” The movie will be the first Searchlight release to debut with the new logo. Call of the Wild, an upcoming family movie, will also be released under the 20th Century banner, without Fox.
The Fox logos will be updated to reflect the change with the most notable change being that the word ‘Fox’ has been removed from the logo marks. The signature elements – swirling klieg lights, monolith, triumphal fanfare – will remain the same.
The original 20th Century Fox was formed in a merger in 1935 between Twentieth Century Pictures and Fox Film Corporation. The studio released some of the most successful movies of all-time, including Avatar, Titanic, Home Alone, Die Hard, Alien, Star Wars: A New Hope, and Planet of the Apes.
Last week, it was revealed that the short-lived, cult sci-fi series Firefly is still in the mind of producers and writers at Fox, who aren’t ruling out a revival.
Since the show’s cancellation, 11 episodes into the first and only 14-episode season between 2002 and 2003, fans have been clamouring for more.