‘Simpsons’ to Disney: ‘Welcome to the family, man!’

“The Simpsons” is welcoming Disney to the 21st Century Fox family with an illustration tweeted by executive producer Matt Selman shows Mickey Mouse taking the place of Bart Simpson in getting choked with rage by Homer Simpson.

pic.twitter.com/g5HKaVAzGW

— Matt Selman (@mattselman) December 14, 2017

The Walt Disney Co. on Thursday announced plans to acquire most of 21st Century Fox’s assets for $52.4 billion, including “The Simpsons” and other major franchises such as “X-Men” and “Avatar.”

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The proposed acquisition does not include Fox News, Fox Business Network, Fox Sports 1 or 2, the Big Ten Network or the Fox broadcasting network and stations but does come with FX and Nat Geo, among other properties.

“The Simpsons” actually predicted Disney would eventually purchase Fox back in 1998.

In the episode, “When You Dish Upon A Star,” the Sunday night Fox programming staple joked that 20th Century Fox was now “A Division of Walt Disney Co.”

ESPN sports business reporter Darren Rovell flagged the clip on his Twitter feed.

Disney announces it has reached a deal to acquire 21st Century Fox, as predicted by a Simpsons episode that first aired on November 8, 1998. pic.twitter.com/kzloJQHeM8

— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) December 14, 2017

Rupert Murdoch, who serves as 21st Century Fox executive chairman, told Fox Business Network’s Maria Bartiromo the deal was made in part because “change is coming” to the television and entertainment landscape.

“Well, you know, there’s a lot of change coming. People watch television differently — not news or business, but entertainment they watch very differently. We’re seeing that with the emergence of new companies. Silicon Valley has nearly spent tens and tens of billions on entertainment programming, so it makes sense to bulk up the entertainment side so that we’ve got a company that can go direct to consumer in a sort of big way.”

Federal regulators will still need to approve of the deal.