The Disney entertainment (and pretty much world) industry takeover is bringing some major changes to an iconic brand. For decades, the 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight Pictures logos have preceded a movies as iconic as Star Wars, Titanic, Home Alone, Avatar, The Sound of Music, and Alien, among others. In fact, the towering golden searchlight logo complete with triumphant music and spotlights is probably one of the most recognizable logos in the United States. Now, this will all change because both companies are now under the massive Disney umbrella. According to a Variety report, the word “Fox” will be removed from both names, thus renaming them 20th Century Studios and Searchlight Pictures. Yes, that means The Mouse has killed The Fox. Insert all of your jokes in the comments.
It’s not clear if this change will also affect anything on the TV side, but it’s a major choice nonetheless. 20th Century Fox was established back in 1935 when Twentieth Century Pictures and Fox Film Corporation merged. This means the name was active for a whopping 85 years—that’s a long time and a lot of projects.
The Variety report suggests that both company logos will essentially remain the same sans the “Fox” portion and some changes are already being updated with company emails and promotional posters like Searchlight’s upcoming film Downhill with credits using “Searchlight Pictures.”
The report also features some unidentified insider information that the word “Fox” being associated with the Murdoch name—specifically Fox Corporation’s Chairman Rupert Murdoch and the late Fox News CEO Roger Ailes—is “toxic” to the Disney brand due to the former company’s history of sexual misconduct scandals.
Some people may be wondering why the name is still 20th Century when we are in the next century. It’s probably for a couple of reasons. First, it was established in the 20th century so why not honor that legacy? There is also the issue of trying to change it to 21st with all of the legwork that will be needed to update everything. It’s much easier to drop the “Fox” than to switch out the numbers. Also, 21 would simply look weird in the logo.
Things were certainly due to change when Disney took over but never fear, one of your favorite intros to movies will mostly stay the same. The only difference, for now, will be the disassociation from all things “fox” related to push the brand forward. Only time will tell if there will be a larger impact or more significant changes on the way.
Featured Image: 20th Century Studios