Just heard this news today (via Kotaku). This could mean huge things in the future not only in the films industry but also in the area of video games and theme parks.
I'm sure for now we won't see major changes, but I expect that the changes will be made over the next two years or so to bring Marvel properties in line with Disney's goals.
For now I'd expect all contracts stand and Sony Pictures will continue to do the filming and work on the marvel superhero lineup of films with Disney simply collecting royalties. However I can't see Disney allowing this to stay out of house for long.
Likewise I can bet that video game lisences won't change in the near future and Disney's own studios just arn't going to be up for any massive undertakings just yet (they haven't brought Kingdom Hearts in house yet so we'll see).
However my major interest lies int he fact that Marvel was supposed to get it's own theme park as part of a deal with the developing Dubialand project (a multi billion dollar project out in Abu Dubia that has hit some roadbumps in the current economy). Disney hasn't been a part of this project and mose signs point to Disney intentionally ignoring it. With Marvel now a part of the Disney family this could mean that Disney will pull them out of the project and bring more focus towards its Chinese park expansions.
I also think this could ultimatly be bad news for Disney's theme park competitor Universal Studios. They've developed themselves as the more thrilling alternative to Disney parks and relied heavily on Marvel characters for that image. Spiderman at Islands of Adventure is one of the most impressive darkrides in the US. However with this deal, Disney could force Universal to remove or alter the ride by refusing to renue the rights to Spiderman whenever that contract becomes due.
If Disney were to suddenly to deny renueals of character contracts with Universal that could cripple their competitor as it would take away much of Unviersals fighting strength while simultaniously creating a huge redevelopment demand. At this point Universal could be stuck in a bad spot in Disney's grasp as Disney will likely make for some hard negotiations whenever those contracts end up being due.
As it stands, most of Marvel's animated series are already featured heavily on Disney's XD cable channel so I suppose this marketing move has been a long time in the works.
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