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New Theme Park (20th Century FOX World?) Construction Progress – Genting Highlands Malaysia

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High above the clouds in Pahang, a theme park that survived a billion-dollar lawsuit is finally taking shape.

Drone footage circulating in August 2019 shows steady construction progress at Resorts World Genting’s outdoor theme park, perched roughly 6,000 feet above sea level in the Genting Highlands of Pahang, Malaysia. The site has a complicated recent history: it sits on the footprint of the old Genting Outdoor Theme Park, which closed in 2013, and for years it was expected to reopen as the world’s first 20th Century Fox World. That plan nearly collapsed in a courtroom fight before a settlement, reached just weeks before this footage surfaced, put the project back on track.

• Genting Malaysia Berhad signed a licensing agreement with Twentieth Century Fox in 2013 to build the world’s first 20th Century Fox World on the site of the shuttered Genting Outdoor Theme Park.
• In November 2018, Genting Malaysia sued Fox Entertainment Group and The Walt Disney Company in California for over $1 billion, alleging Fox improperly terminated the deal as Disney’s acquisition of Fox’s entertainment assets loomed; Fox countersued in early 2019 for $46.4 million.
• On July 25, 2019, Genting Malaysia, Fox, and Disney reached an out-of-court settlement, with Genting now licensed to use select Fox intellectual property alongside non-Fox IP, and the park’s opening pushed to early 2021.

A Project Built on a 2013 Handshake

The Genting Highlands park’s roots trace back to 2013, when Genting Malaysia Berhad and Twentieth Century Fox signed the licensing agreement that would have made the resort home to the first 20th Century Fox World anywhere on Earth. The site itself had history of its own — it replaced the original Genting Outdoor Theme Park, which shut down that same year to make way for the new development. For a mountain resort already known for its casino and hotel towers, a Fox-branded park promised a new reason for tourists to make the drive up from Kuala Lumpur, not unlike how other operators across the region have leaned on road trips through Malaysia to draw visitors between destinations.

The Billion-Dollar Lawsuit That Nearly Sank It

Everything changed in November 2018, when Genting Malaysia filed suit in California, seeking more than $1 billion in damages from Fox Entertainment Group and The Walt Disney Company. Genting’s argument was direct: Fox had improperly walked away from the licensing agreement right as Disney was closing in on its acquisition of Fox’s entertainment assets, and Genting alleged Disney wanted the ties cut because Resorts World Genting runs a casino — a fit that clashed with Disney’s family-friendly brand identity. Disney called the claims meritless. Fox didn’t just deny the allegations; it countersued in early 2019, demanding $46.4 million of its own.

Genting sought over $1 billion in damages; Fox countersued for $46.4 million — and then, on July 25, 2019, both sides put down their swords.

The July 2019 Settlement

The standoff ended on July 25, 2019, when Genting Malaysia, Fox, and Disney reached a comprehensive out-of-court settlement. According to Genting’s own regulatory filing with Bursa Malaysia, the parties signed a restated memorandum of agreement that grants Genting a license to use select Fox intellectual properties — not the full 20th Century Fox World branding package originally envisioned, but enough IP to move forward. Genting confirmed it is updating its development plans to finish the outdoor park with a mix of both Fox and non-Fox intellectual properties, and that the park will be renamed rather than carry the 20th Century Fox World title outright.

Construction Footage Reveals Project Progress

The video capturing this progress in August 2019 arrives just days after that settlement became public, giving a rare look at how far the build had actually gotten while the legal fight played out behind closed doors. Structural work at 6,000 feet of elevation isn’t simple under any circumstances, and the footage suggests Genting kept crews moving on-site even amid the litigation uncertainty. It’s the kind of high-altitude build that invites comparison to other ambitious regional projects, including Motiongate in Dubai, which also leaned on major studio licensing to fill its themed lands. With the settlement now signed, Genting has room to finalize which attractions carry Fox names and which don’t.

Genting’s own timeline now points to an early 2021 opening — nearly eight years after the original Fox World deal was signed and roughly two and a half years later than the resort once hoped. Whatever the park ends up being called, the mountain build keeps climbing.