With Disney having finally progressed with their purchase of 21st Century Fox, one of the elements of this deal that had fans most intrigued was the prospect of Fox’s Marvel characters turning up in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Now while that may happen at some point, don’t go expecting to see the X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Deadpool turning up in the MCU any time soon.
Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige has been discussing that possibility while promoting this month’s Black Panther, and he gave his thoughts to Vulture. “I read about it in the press like most people did,” Feige said, “these are big deals, and certainly above my paygrade.”
He added, “The truth of the matter as I understand it is the deal has to be figured out. There’s been no communication. We’re not thinking about it. We’re focusing on everything we’ve already announced. If and when the deal actually happens, we’ll start to think more about it. Until then, we have a lot to do. It would be years away. We’ve announced everything through 2019, so none of those would be adjusted. I think about it through 2019, through the movies we’ve already shot or are about to start filming. I’m hoping to deliver on everything we’ve promised thus far.”
As alluded to, the House of Mouse and the MCU have plenty of pictures booked in for the next few years. Black Panther roars to the silver screen in a fortnight or so, then Avengers: Infinity War is next up this May. That huge ensemble will see Earth’s Mightiest Heroes joined by the Guardians of the Galaxy and any and all heroes worth their salt when Thanos finally steps out of the shadows. Following that, Ant-Man and the Wasp is booked in for July, then the Brie Larson-headlined Captain Marvel kicks off next year’s MCU projects in March 2019. After that, the Infinity War follow-up is set for May 2019, bringing Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to a close.
From there, the Spider-Man: Homecoming sequel is booked in for July 2019, and then there’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 planned for some point in 2020. In addition to that, there’s once more been rumblings of a solo movie for Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow, not to mention talk of another solo outing for Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange.
If and when the X-Men, Fantastic Four and Co. do wind up in the MCU, it will be a huge deal – with most eagerly hoping that we’ll finally get to see Marvel’s First Family done right. For now, though, it looks as if these characters won’t be integrated into the MCU any time in the near future. That, of course, could change in an instant.
As ever, expect more on all of this as it continues to develop.
