Disney finalized its deal to buy 20th Century Fox and its related media production assets, less than a year ago for $71 billion. (with a B!) Now they’ve announced they are removing the word “Fox” from the 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight logos and brands.

What was once Fox films will now be known as 20th Century Pictures or Searchlight Pictures.

The change will go into effect immediately this year. According to Variety, the writing was on the wall within the industry, as Fox Searchlight staffers had already transitioned to changing their emails from a fox.com to searchlightpictures.com.

Disney acquired 20th Century Fox but it doesn’t own the Fox broadcasting network, Fox News, or other cable networks with the Fox name. Those are still under the ownership of Rupert Murdoch’s Fox Corp.

But this is not the first time the studio’s name has been changed. In 1935 the name 20th Century Fox was created when Joseph Schenck and Darryl F. Zanuck’s Twentieth Century Pictures and Sidney Kent’s Fox Films merged. Since that iconic logo and intro has appeared on movies like Star Wars, The Sound of Music, Planet of the Apes, Titanic, X-Men, All About Eve, Alien, Die Hard, and The Grapes of Wrath.

Fox Searchlight has had a 25-year history with another impressive legacy with Oscar-winners like The Favourite, The Shape of Water, Birdman, The Grand Budapest Hotel, and Black Swan.

This new distinction separates Disney from any association with the dubious Fox News brand and dooms the name strictly to that “Bombshell” legacy.

But if they are updating the logo, why not move it into the future and call it

21st Century Pictures?

(via Den of Geek)