Marvel Studios regained the rights to the Fantastic Four and X-Men franchises thanks to the Disney/Fox merger. We've already had The Fantastic Four: First Steps, the highest-grossing movie yet featuring the team, and Marvel's First Family will return in Avengers: Doomsday.
Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier is developing an X-Men reboot, which, if all goes to plan, should launch an entire slate of projects revolving around mutants.
Before showcasing a new take on the X-Men, the Variants from the 20th Century Fox movies will take centre stage in the upcoming Avengers movies for a final send-off. For Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, the X-Men are at the forefront of the "streamlined, simplified, single universe" coming after Avengers: Secret Wars.
Confirming that "the X-Men will be at its core," he explained, "Acquiring the X-Men rights isn't just about... for example, Wolverine is an outstanding character, and we were able to team him up with Deadpool, which is great. But the X-Men are far more than just Wolverine, far more than the original team; fundamentally, it's a universe, a multi-stage saga. Much of that is what we're working towards."
"We’re constantly changing, constantly evolving, but having some guidance helps us act more purposefully, especially with X-Men—it’s already had 10 movies, some very, very good, some I think haven’t lived up to expectations—how do we plan the 'mutant saga' in a very grand way?"
"That being said, we have many more characters to explore in the future—the schedule is already booked until 2042, especially the X-Men," Feige continued. "The X-Men have many unexplored characters from the Asia-Pacific region, particularly China, which we're very eager to explore. That's why I'm excited about the X-Men: we can show the world different types of heroes."
If Marvel Studios gets X-Men right, it can potentially launch a new era of storytelling that includes franchises like X-Force, Wolverine, X-Factor, Exiles, and even competing teams of X-Men (think back to the '90s and the "Blue and Gold" era).
Feige also touched on the Spider-Man franchise's future, confirming plans for potentially as many as five more movies and the live-action debut of Miles Morales.
"There's a line in Spider-Man: No Way Home, where Electro says, 'There's always a black Spider-Man somewhere.' Audiences around the world were thrilled because they knew it might be a hint at Miles," Feige said. "The good news is, Sony has the *Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse* series, which are very popular and excellent, and Beyond the Universe is coming out next year."
"But yes, we definitely have plans [for a live-action Miles]," he revealed, "and I think a live-action Spider-Man movie has this destiny: to add Miles sometime after the Spider-Verse series ends."
"We've been thinking and discussing more Spider-Man adventures, regardless of agreements or contracts. My production partner, Amy Pascal, is already working on it, and we've had in-depth discussions about what the next two, three, four, and five Spider-Man movies might be about," Feige concluded, making it clear that Spidey's future is in the MCU.
Unfortunately, one thing the Marvel Studios boss wouldn't address is rumours that F1: The Movie star Damson Idris is playing the new Black Panther. Feige instead declined to comment on that, neither confirming nor denying the speculation.
Are you excited for Marvel Studios' X-Men and Spider-Man plans? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.