It's really non one companies fault. Marvel, like usual, oversold its rights in the 90's when they had nothing going on. Universal had been battling theme park headwinds for most of the 2k's, (IIRC), and Disney needed to time to do an overhaul. I believe Universal intended a major overhaul when Hulk was in production, and then it sank so they pulled back.
As for WB, they tried a massive branding campaign in the 90's when they had bosses who believed in that. From the WB Stores to their theme parks, DC was very abundant. The AOL merger killed off a lot of those divisions. IMO, I think Disney/Marvel didn't jump ship from Universal because 1. they needed time to figure out what works 2. Star Wars is coming and 3. WB is more than willing to fill that Universal spot. In the near future at Universal you're going to see Kong, Jurassic and Uni Horror revamped areas, plus a Pacific Rim area and possibly Godzilla, Toho willing. All you're missing is DC and it's fanboy heaven. That's not huge, it's yuge.
Also keep in mind both Marvel tours were Disney-backed, and one is puttering along while the other big bonanza tanked hard. "The Experience" closed, re-started, then permanently shut down. Outside the Avengers-centric movies, Marvel is in full deceleration but it gets no coverage out of fear of Disney. Gaming, live tours, network tv...all misfires. DD has done well by Netflix standards, which is about equal to Agents of Shield numbers. And Ant-Man...very well received, but a big step back in box office for something they actively tied into the Avengers, moreso than Guardians. And Marvel knew it wasn't tracking well, which is why they bailed on SDCC a week before Ant-Man opened.
As for WB, they tried a massive branding campaign in the 90's when they had bosses who believed in that. From the WB Stores to their theme parks, DC was very abundant. The AOL merger killed off a lot of those divisions. IMO, I think Disney/Marvel didn't jump ship from Universal because 1. they needed time to figure out what works 2. Star Wars is coming and 3. WB is more than willing to fill that Universal spot. In the near future at Universal you're going to see Kong, Jurassic and Uni Horror revamped areas, plus a Pacific Rim area and possibly Godzilla, Toho willing. All you're missing is DC and it's fanboy heaven. That's not huge, it's yuge.
Also keep in mind both Marvel tours were Disney-backed, and one is puttering along while the other big bonanza tanked hard. "The Experience" closed, re-started, then permanently shut down. Outside the Avengers-centric movies, Marvel is in full deceleration but it gets no coverage out of fear of Disney. Gaming, live tours, network tv...all misfires. DD has done well by Netflix standards, which is about equal to Agents of Shield numbers. And Ant-Man...very well received, but a big step back in box office for something they actively tied into the Avengers, moreso than Guardians. And Marvel knew it wasn't tracking well, which is why they bailed on SDCC a week before Ant-Man opened.
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