It has been reported that Warner Bros. Discovery is considering licensing its DC characters to Universal. Six Flags currently holds exclusive theme park rights to DC Comics characters in theme parks, so the question is if the characters would potentially be found in both chain’s parks going forward or move exclusively to Universal. Warner Bros. currently license Harry Potter to Universal, so the two companies already have a track record of working together on theme park attractions. A DC license could also be seen as a replacement for the Marvel IP Universal still has in its park Disney now owning the rights to Marvel. Given the media merger landscape, we could see a major reshuffling of theme park IP in the coming years.

A lesser known part of theme park history is that Universal’s Islands of Adventure was originally planned as “Cartoon World” and was to heavily feature DC Comics characters and Looney Tunes. There were concepts for rides like a Superman motion simulator and a Batman/Penguin dueling coaster, but a deal with Warner Bros. fell through, leading Universal to partner with Marvel instead to build “Marvel Super Hero Island,” while DC made a deal with Six Flags. I guess it shows that nothing is really ever lost in the theme park design world, it is just recycled or skinned with a new IP.

A retheme of a ride or a land can be quite common. It can be as simple as Goliath becoming Chupacabra at Six Flags Fiesta Texas or more complex like Tiana’s Bayou Adventure replacing Splash Mountain or involve a complete land like Sesame Street Bay of Play becoming Rescue Jr. at SeaWorld San Antonio. Sometimes new signage and a new paint job are all that’s required, but with more complex attractions a change in video elements or set pieces are required. To change Marvel Super Hero Island to DC it would be quite easy to retheme The Incredible Hulk Coaster, Doctor Doom’s Fearfall and Storm Force Accelatron with new paint and signage, but The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man would be more complex and more akin to the work Disney had to do in creating Tiana’s Bayou Adventure or Test Track 3.0. The ride infrastructure and vehicles could remain, but the most of the story elements and all the audio/video elements would need to be changed. However, changing Spider-Man to Superman on that platform would probably be pretty straightforward.

The only thing certain right now is uncertainty as Netflix has reached a deal to buy Warner Bros., but is facing a hostile takeover bid from Paramount. It’s hard to imagine a deal being completed with Universal prior to the sale of Warner Bros. being resolved. Little is also known about the duration of the Six Flags exclusive contract for DC. It is only for North American parks, but is rumored to stretch as long as 2053, long enough that they just invested in building DC Universe at Six Flags Fiesta Texas. This could lead to a situation similar to Marvel where Universal has rights to use it in theme parks East of the Mississippi in the United States for certain characters, but Disney gets everything and everywhere else. This could be especially important with Universal’s park’s in Asia as well as its upcoming park in the United Kingdom. My guess is perhaps this is less about Universal Studios Hollywood or Universal Orlando Resort and more about Universal Studios Beijing, Japan, Singapore and United Kingdom.