Marvel Boss Kevin Feige Already Has Plans for the X-Men Universe
How long before Tony Stark threatens to throw a maid costume-wearing Wade Wilson out of a Quinjet? Whispers that Disney and 20th Century Fox are approaching a landmark deal that would deliver Fox’s entertainment assets to Disney for $68 billion has dominated the news cycle for weeks. If it goes through, then Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige will soon have some very fun, very powerful new characters to play with.
This impending merger would change the landscape of the superhero entertainment industry — plus a few other things. While no agreement has officially been reached, industry experts are predicting the Hollywood powerhouses could settle a deal as early as next week.
Just because there’s no deal yet, though, doesn’t mean Feige, godfather of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, hasn’t already started dreaming of future crossover events. While the Disney-owned MCU has the lion’s share of Marvel’s iconic superheroes on its side — including Spider-Man after Sony agreed to share the rights — Fox has had the X-Men (including Deadpool) and the Fantastic Four in its grasp since the late 1990s.
As reported by Deadline on Wednesday, Feige has said he’s “eager to get his hands on the X-Men universe… and cross-pollinate the rich swarm of characters with the existing Marvel franchise heroes who show up in each other’s films.”
What, exactly, Feige has in mind is a mystery, especially since most of the telepaths in the Marvel universe still belong to Fox at the moment.
As of right now, Fox has Deadpool 2, New Mutants, Dark Phoenix, Gambit, X-Force, and Multiple Man on the docket for the next several years, but the X-Men universe could change, perhaps quite drastically, if this deal goes through. Peter Parker’s Spider-Man was rebooted for a third origin story when Sony dealt with Disney to make Spider-Man: Homecoming; and while the X-Men universe isn’t a stranger to starting over (X-Men: Days of Future Past, anyone?), Disney would be bypassing 10 Fox-made X-Men films to do so.
The MCU would also be seriously impacted. Disney currently has at least nine MCU films in the works, starting with February 2018’s Black Panther and ending with an “Untitled Marvel Movie” in November 2020.
You will most likely not live to see the final MCU film. Now, potentially add the X-Men, Deadpool, and the Fantastic Four to that equation. Your kids probably won’t see the end of the MCU, either.
Check out this video on how X-23 got her adamantium claws in Logan.
