Chapter 335: The Hulk Changes Hands

Chapter 335: Chapter 335: The Hulk Changes Hands

Ten minutes later, Lisa put away her phone with a reluctant expression: "The boss is probably busy filming and hasn’t replied yet. How about I go back and wait for her message, then come back to see you later?" With that, she stood up.

Victor worried that with Irene Coppola’s shrewdness, she might not accept such a bundle. He quickly stopped Lisa, "Did your boss say you absolutely couldn’t take the Hulk? As long as she didn’t say that, there’s room for negotiation."

Lisa hesitated for a moment, "Well, she didn’t say that, but..."

"There’s no ’but’ about it. The Hulk is a top-tier Marvel hero, incomparable to those third-tier heroes in their hands. Other popular characters have long been carved up by major companies. If you want a ticket to film superheroes, we are your best choice." Victor’s words weren’t without merit. The facts were indeed as he stated.

Lisa looked at Victor, her tone turning serious. "But only getting the filming rights limits subsequent derivative development and IP crossovers. The flexibility is too low, and the risk is too great for us. If Universal can open up all rights to the Hulk, including derivative development and sequel rights, only then would we be willing to take on this ’burden’. Otherwise, my boss definitely won’t agree and would rather give up the collaboration on Fast & Furious."

Victor was stunned for a moment, clearly not expecting Lisa to make such a request.

He pondered for a moment, calculating quickly in his mind. Hulk was currently a liability. Opening up all rights wouldn’t result in any loss. Instead, it would completely shed the burden and secure the follow-up funding for Fast & Furious. Why not? Moreover, he was certain that Future World wouldn’t be able to make any waves after taking it over. It would just be a waste of resources.

"Fine," Victor agreed readily, his tone carrying a hint of condescending arrogance. "But Lisa, I’m giving you a green light here. Remember to tell Irene that she owes me a favor." He stood up and extended his hand. "Pleasure doing business with you. I hope you can make something out of this piece of trash."

Lisa suppressed her inner ecstasy and shook his hand, her face still wearing that expression of reluctant acceptance. "I hope so. My legal team will handle the details of the subsequent agreement with you. I’ll leave it in your hands, Victor."

Walking out of the Universal Pictures building, Lisa immediately sent a message to Irene: "Boss, it’s done! We’ve secured the joint filming rights for the Fast & Furious sequels and all the rights to the Hulk! Victor didn’t suspect a thing from start to finish. He even thinks we’re the ones getting the short end of the stick."

At this time, Irene was still busy on the set in the Caribbean Sea, her phone left in the rest cabin, with no time to check messages.

After seeing Lisa off, Victor immediately reported to Ron Meyer.

Upon hearing that Future World wanted to take over the rights to the Hulk, Ron’s first reaction was surprise: "Does this IP still have value? Irene has never failed since entering the industry."

"She might not know yet," Victor quickly explained. "The bundle was my spontaneous suggestion. Irene Coppola is currently filming far away in the Caribbean Sea. She shouldn’t be able to react so quickly."

Ron then breathed a sigh of relief, concluding that Future World was simply expanding its projects. He immediately decided to squeeze the last bit of value out of the Hulk: "Tell them we’ve decided to sell them the full rights. It’s much more convenient than licensing. But it will cost $20 million. Also, they must film a related movie within the next five years, or we have the right to reclaim it." He figured they had the same idea as them—wait for the audience to forget the previous film before rebooting—but who knew if the next attempt would succeed? By selling the rights, he could make an eight-figure sum. At least that money was within reach.

When Lisa Evelyn received the message from Victor’s side, she almost thought she had misread it. Universal was actually being this cooperative?

She had spent half her life dealing with copyright law. Licensing and selling were completely different treatments, and of course, the prices were completely different too.

With licensing, the rights would still be in Universal’s hands. Once they found the Hulk to be profitable, they might resort to tearing up the contract. When that happened, a lawsuit would not only drag on but also delay the movie’s release, eventually ruining the project. Such things were not unheard of in Hollywood.

But a sale of rights was completely different. Once sold, the Hulk would have absolutely nothing to do with Universal. Even if Future World made the Hulk a massive success later, Universal could only watch helplessly.

Lisa was very clear about Irene’s subsequent plans and understood her considerations for the Marvel Universe. Therefore, being able to resolve all lingering concerns was naturally the best choice, even if the cost was significantly higher than they had originally planned.

She immediately replied to Victor’s message, stating that Future World agreed to purchase the full rights to the Hulk, and then promptly sent the details regarding the purchase to Irene.

After finishing work late at night, Irene finally saw the message and immediately called Lisa to get the full details.

Learning of Universal’s thoughts, Irene felt that Universal was truly inflexible for choosing to sell the Hulk. It was just one failed adaptation. Although the movie wasn’t liked by audiences, it wasn’t bad overall. How could they make such a short-sighted move? No wonder they could never beat Warner Bros. in her previous life and could only live off the legacy of Fast & Furious.

Upon learning the quote, she cursed "shameless" under her breath. Universal had bought the rights from Marvel for less than $5 million back then, and now they were asking for four times that.

"Keep in touch with them," Irene instructed calmly. "My target price is 15 million. The filming deadline should be calculated from the start of the project’s initiation, and the genre cannot be restricted."

It was now 2003. Iron Man 1 would be released in 2008, so Marvel would initiate the project by 2006 at the latest. If she still hadn’t successfully acquired the relevant rights or taken control of Marvel by then, she would have to collaborate with them, putting the Hulk into Iron Man 1 as a background element—which would count as a film work and could even serve as the first step of the Marvel Universe.

After several rounds of back-and-forth, both sides reached a compromise: Future World secured the full rights to the Hulk for $15.6 million.

On the day of the signing, the atmosphere in the legal conference room at Universal Pictures was exceptionally "harmonious."

The Universal side was completely relaxed, treating it as getting rid of a hot potato while making a quick buck, their faces full of the relief of "finally being rid of it."

Lisa, on the other hand, was secretly delighted. Securing the rights to the Hulk was equivalent to prying open the door to collaboration on Marvel IPs. This move was brilliant. Both sides had their own agendas, yet both were satisfied with the outcome.