Superhero movies have become commonplace over the past few years, with a handful of studios and cinematic universes vying for box offie supremacy. But the competition might be getting smaller in the next few years, as Disney prepared to merge with 20th Century Fox. This could bring Fox's X-Men and Deadpool franchises into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a concept that should get any fanboy excited.
Unfortunately, there hasn't been any clear plans for how/if Fox's Marvel characters will be adopted into the behemoth MCU. While cinephiles have been left to wait and wonder as the two companies devise their shared future, The Russo Brothers seem convinced that the X-Men and Deadpool will eventually transition into Marvel's shared universe. As Joe Russo recently said:
I'm sure of it. I'm certain, with [president of Marvel Studios] Kevin Feige, who also has been on an historic run in the business, that he is going to incorporate those characters under the large Marvel umbrella.
It seems that the mutants of Marvel will eventually join the likes of the Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. At least, if Joe Russo's assessment is to be believed. Now the question is, when?
Joe Russo's comments from Insider's Ignition Conference will no doubt excite the hardcore Marvel fans out there, who have been missing the X-Men in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Before shared universes and serialized storytelling became so common, Marvel's biggest characters were spread out across various studios. Sony had Spider-Man, while Fox got the rights to the X-Men, starting with Bryan Singer's original 2000 movie.
But once Iron Man hit in 2007, the film world changed. Marvel Studios made each of their movies interconnected, with ten years of storytelling currently occupying its list of blockbusters. With movies like Captain America: Civil War and the Avengers franchise utilizing all of Marvel's best, it's been especially obvious that characters like Wolverine and Deadpool were missing from the fun. But that seems like it'll change, once Fox and Disney's merger becomes written in stone, and their plan for development becomes clear.
It should be fascinating to see exactly Fox's mutant franchises are merged with the MCU, if Joe Russo's prediction comes to fruition. The X-Men franchise has been going for 18 years already, with its own convoluted timeline. Perhaps Marvel will want to start fresh, and use a new cast of mutants to finally bring the team to the MCU. Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, and James McAvoy aren't going to stay in their roles forever, after all.
As for Deadpool, there's no way Ryan Reynolds is going anywhere. He is Wade Wilson, and the Deadpool franchise is so popular that Disney would no doubt jump at the chance to handle the Merc with the Mouth-- even if that means having an R-Rated property on their hands. The New Mutants cast also seems like a possibility to join the MCU, since they're newcomers as it is.
Avengers 4 will arrive on May 3rd 2019. and Dark Phoenix is set for theater on June 7, 2019. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your trips to the movies in the New Year.
