Yeah, it’s the Al Michaels you’re thinking of. You may know him as a veteran sportscaster, but did you know that, in a roundabout way, he was also a key contributor to the storyline for Disney’s upcoming Epic Mickey?
Here’s how: the storyline for Epic Mickey revolves around a conflict between Mickey and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, an obscure character Walt Disney came up with in the 20s. Anyway, Disney didn’t hold the rights to Oswald’s character; NBC Universal did.
But the character was important to the game, which may play a very important role in a reboot for the ageing character. So in 2006 (the game’s been kicked arond since 2004), NBC and Disney struck a deal: Disney got the rights to Oswald back, while Al Michaels would leave the Disney-owned ESPN and go work for NBC instead.
You ever heard of a stranger video game business deal? We haven’t.
Disney Will Make Over Mickey. Why? To Make Us Like Him. [New York Times]