Analysis | Thor vs Deadpool? How the Disney-Fox deal is going to transform Hollywood and the streaming war with Netflix

The Walt Disney Company’s acquisition of a large chunk of 21st Century Fox is expected to reshape the filmmaking landscape, uniting two of the “big six” Hollywood studios under one umbrella for the first time.

Disney agreed Thursday to buy key film and television assets from Fox in a $52.4 billion deal set to step up its challenge to Netflix and emerging rivals in the streaming wars.

“It’s certainly a historic merger but this is not the first time two studios have come together – 20th Century Fox is itself the result of a merger,” said filmmaker Jean-Luc de Fanti, who co-produced Good Time and American Made this year.

Disney will take over billionaire Rupert Murdoch’s prestigious movie distribution businesses, which racked up 27 Golden Globes nominations on Monday, comfortably more than its big six rivals combined.

One important question for film buffs is whether Disney, which offloaded indie subsidiary Miramax in 2010, has the stomach to keep much-admired art house label Fox Searchlight going after the acquisition.