With the X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Deadpool all on the way to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the world inhabited by The Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy is about to change in a huge way. While those characters will never be the same again, neither will those who have, until now, lived in Fox's messy Marvel Universe. It's fair to say that those heroes and villains will be changed for the better!
Disney has semi-confirmed that the Deadpool franchise will remain R-Rated but being surrounded by The Avengers will have a huge impact on Wade Wilson no matter the rating. Throw in the fact that we'll be getting new versions of both the X-Men and Fantastic Four in just a few years time (maybe as soon as 2020) and there are a lot of exciting ways we can expect to see those characters finally done justice.
What you'll find here then are the ten biggest ways the arrival of Fox's Marvel heroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe will change them forever. However, will all of those alterations be for the best?
Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool Gets To Join The MCU
This would be a game changer and a massive box office draw for Marvel Studios. Disney CEO Bob Iger had suggested that the Deadpool franchise will continue to be R-Rated and a character like this could easily be given the reboot treatment (think The Incredible Hulk) while making a tongue in cheek reference to the fact he's suddenly inhabiting a new universe.
Regardless of whether Deadpool remains R-Rated or heads down the PG-13 route, It's fair to say that the potential for the character - and X-Force - to find success in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is definitely there even if he remains in his own corner of that world the same way he has in the X-Men one. Then again, the prospect of seeing Deadpool teaming up with the likes of Spider-Man and Captain America is tremendously exciting!
Better Costumes
While the end of X-Men: Apocalypse introduced some colourful costumes for the team, they weren't great and a long way off from what we've seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The costumes worn by the X-Men have always been problematic for fans, of course, and so it will be good to finally see them decked out in designs by concept artists like Andy Park and Ryan Meinerding.
The same thing applies to the Fantastic Four because they're in desperate need of a fresh look on the big screen. Throw in redesigned costumes for the many villains who have been botched over the years (Galactus, Doctor Doom, and Apocalypse instantly spring to mind) and these characters are about to start looking a whole lot better!
Mutants Will Actually Feel Special Again
When X-Men was released in 2000, seeing these mutant characters on the big screen actually felt special but Fox has watered them down over the years by filling schools and prisons full of unknown extras and introducing subpar versions of great heroes and villains.
Regardless of whether the mutant gene is a new occurrence in the Marvel Cinematic Universe or they've all been in hiding for years, Kevin Feige has the opportunity to make these characters great again by making them unique and making a big deal out of their presence in this world.
Just imagine Sentinels surrounding the team in New York City made from salvaged Stark tech the government has found? That would be incredible.
Good News For Comic Book And Theme Park Fans
Because Marvel Studios didn't own the rights to the X-Men and Fantastic Four, Marvel Entertainment CEO Ike Perlmutter made it so that both teams would have a diminished presence in the company's comic book universe. That's bound to change now as we'll finally see Marvel put the Inhumans back in the box they belong in and put the spotlight back on some of their greatest heroes.
Plans are already being put in place for the Fantastic Four to return and the days of the X-Men being excluded from big events has to be near an end. As for Disney's theme parks, you can bet your life we'll now start seeing more merchandise featuring the characters hit those and other stores, not to mention various rides and attractions!
Wolverine Joins The Avengers
Hugh Jackman seems reluctant to return to the role of Wolverine regardless of the fact he can now appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe but there's no way this character won't be leading the charge when the X-Men hit the MCU! The massive crossover appeal of the hero means well no doubt see him with that team, in his own solo series, and as part of The Avengers.
After all, Marvel isn't going to bring these characters home to isolate them and Wolverine is the perfect candidate to bridge the gap between the two worlds. Some fans probably won't be happy seeing Wolverine once again serve as the focal point of the X-Men but seeing him in his yellow and blue suit standing alongside the rest of The Avengers is the stuff dreams are made of.
It Changes The Marvel Cinematic Universe Forever
Spider-Man swinging into the MCU was definitely a big deal but the arrival of the X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Deadpool will change this world forever. Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters will change how heroes are perceived in this world, while a team like the Fantastic Four showing up to occupy Stark Tower would be unbelievably cool.
Regardless of whether we're talking about Galactus attacking Earth or a terrorist like Magneto making New York City bend to his will, just the villains alone with shake things up in a major way.
It might take a couple of years before all these heroes start crossing paths but when it does happen, we're talking about perhaps the biggest superhero movie of all-time. Just imagine Spider-Man, The Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Fantastic Four, and X-Men all standing side by side on the big screen!
No More Stupid Continuity Errors
The X-Men Universe is full of infuriating and confusing continuity errors (which timeline does Logan take place in again?) but thanks to Kevin Feige, those days are over. While some fans believe that Marvel will find a way to make the X-Men movies fit into the MCU, it would be naive to think they'll do anything other than start from scratch. Sure, there might be the odd retcon here and there to explain why we've never heard about the mutants until now (the Fantastic Four can just be introduced as new heroes) but things are about to start running a lot more smoothly with these characters and that's a good thing!
The Fantastic Four We Know And Love
Fox had three chances to get the X-Men right and they f***ed them up (and Doctor Doom) each and every time. They couldn't even get the team's origin story right despite the fact that it's one of the easiest ones to pull off from any comic book ever. Throw in crappy versions of Galactus, the Negative Zone, and more, and it's fair to say this team is in desperate need of redemption.
That's where Marvel comes in! Regardless of whether we get an adventure with the team set in the 1960s or their powers are caused by Thanos' Infinity War, it will be damn near impossible for the ball to be dropped here. Unfortunately, the dismal performance of the 2015 reboot probably means we'll be waiting longer to see this group than the X-Men but you have to believe it's ultimately going to be worth it.
The Heroes Get To Embrace Their Cosmic Roots
Despite the fact that Simon Kinberg has promised to make up for past mistakes with X-Men: Dark Phoenix, it looks set to be a relatively grounded affair with the team journeying into space solely for a quick opening scene. The team has embarked on a number of missions in outer space over the years and you have to believe that's now going to change, especially as it opens the door to Cyclops and company hanging out with the Guardians of the Galaxy!
The Fantastic Four stands the greatest chance of benefitting from heading into outer space, though, as setting the team's adventures in the cosmic side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe would help differentiate them from previous iterations and opens up a lot of doors not even the Guardians have been able to.
Avengers Vs. X-Men
This has to happen. It might take a decade or could be what first brings the X-Men into the Marvel Cinematic Universe but an event movie like this has dollar signs written all over it. It's going to take an awful lot to top Avengers: Infinity War and its sequel so an Avengers vs. X-Men movie (which also includes the Fantastic Four and Guardians) would be huge.
Ever since we learned that The Avengers was going to become a movie, fans have been anxious to see this one become a reality and we're now just years away from that potentially hitting theaters all over the world. The only movie bigger than this would be Avengers vs. Justice League and don't be surprised to see the groundwork laid for this in Phase 4 and beyond.