Now that the Disney/Fox merger is a done deal, speculation is running rampant about what comes next. Well,
The Hollywood Reporter has run a piece which sheds at least a little light on plans for the
X-Men and
Fantastic Four franchises, and it makes for very interesting reading indeed.
For starters, it's said that
Deadpool is expected to be the only iteration of the current X-Men who will make the jump to Disney (which is hardly a surprise after recent comments from Bob Iger).
As for
Dark Phoenix, it seems as if that's still eyeing a theatrical release but a decision about
The New Mutants won't be made until Disney execs get to see it. While the idea of reshoots has been brought up for the troubled project, it's likely to end up on a streaming service like Disney+ or Hulu rather than in theaters this August as originally planned.
Things are also getting somewhat complicated behind the scenes. There are a number of producer deals which need to be looked at and potentially bought out, as both Lauren Shuler Donner and Simon Kinberg may have deals which will see them receive executive producer credits on all future
X-Men movies regardless of whether or not they're actually involved.
It's also said that Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige has
"met with several members of the X-Men old guard in recent months." Take from that what you will, but the trade also notes that
"Unless Feige has a completed script waiting in his desk drawer, any of the newly-arrived heroes are unlikely to hit screens at least until 2021 if not later."
Hit the "View List" button below to check out 10 Fox
characters Marvel Studios now needs to prioritise.
Cyclops
While it's true that we've seen plenty of Cyclops over the past twenty years or so, I think an argument could be made that Fox never quite got the character right. James Marsden and Tye Sheridan were both well cast but neither has been given the opportunity to show what a great leader Scott Summers is and most of their screentime has been devoted to pining after Jean Grey.
From the very start, Bryan Singer made a point of emasculating Cyclops as soon as Wolverine showed up and while I'm sure Marvel Studios is well aware of the importance this character holds to X-Men fans, there's sadly a risk that they'll feel he's been overexposed.
With any luck, though, he'll be given the chance to shine in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and these movies will focus on his actual personality, including Scott's slightly darker side which has seen him align himself with Magneto in both the regular and Ultimate Marvel Universes over the years.