According to Variety Disney has now officially axed the Fox brand name from their acquisitions.

The Walt Disney Company is dropping the “Fox” name from the brands and are now calling them “20th Century Studios” and “Searchlight Pictures.”

Disney has already taken the “Fox” name out of email addresses for “Searchlight Pictures” staff. It has been replaced with “@searchlightpictures.com.” I’m sure this will also be happening for the “20th Century Studios” employees as well.

Posters for new released projects also reflect the new company names as well.

The logos will not undergo drastic changes. From a business standpoint you want those to remain instantly recognizable. So they will just remove “Fox” from them according to Variety:

“Those logos won’t be dramatically altered, just updated. The most notable change is that the word “Fox” has been removed from the logo marks. Otherwise, the signature elements — swirling klieg lights, monolith, triumphal fanfare — will remain the same.”

It’s kind of sad to me because 20th Century Fox has been around for decades. I get why they want to change it, as Disney owns it now, but it’s still a bit sad.  I’m also sure they want to avoid brand confusion with the Fox properties that Rupert Murdoch still owns. Disney apparently wants to distance itself from the old brand.

According to one “Insider” that spoke to Variety:

“I think the Fox name means Murdoch, and that is toxic.”

No changes have yet been made to the television side yet. 20th Century Fox Television and Fox 21 Television Studios are still named that, for now. I expect those changes to come soon.

What do you think? Comment and let us know!

Source: Variety