The X-Men are coming home, Dan Slott is wrapping up a ten year run on Amazing Spider-Man, Brian Michael Bendis jumped ship to DC Comics and Superman's red trunks are returning. The year is only a quarter over but 2018 is already shaping up to be one for the record books.
Easily, the most shocking news in recent years was the announcement of Disney's impending acquisition of Fox, and with it, the return of the X-Men, Fantastic Four, Silver Surfer, Doctor Doom and Galactus to Marvel Studios. Given that even the worst adaptation of these characters still earned Fox hundreds of millions of dollars at the box office, most comic book fans logically concluded that there would be no way that film rights would EVER return to Marvel due to inactivity.
Likewise, it was assumed that there would be no way that Marvel could simply purchase the film rights to these characters as the asking price would be too high. In a way, these assumptions were right as Disney opted to just buy the whole studio lot.
This leads us to wonder what other impossibilities are left for fans to still look forward to in the coming years. Prior to the X-Men deal, the most shocking, impossible occurrence was Spider-Man's debut in the MCU in Captain America: Civil War. With those occurrences in mind, here are a few more impossible developments that would make fans say, "I never thought I'd see the day...."
5.) Hulk Gets A Solo Movie
Long story short, the chances of another standalone Huk movie are slim to none due to the fact that Hulk's film rights belong to Universal Pictures, giving them first refusal rights. What that means, is that if Disney were to produce and finance a standalone Hulk film, Universal Pictures would get to distribute it.
This is reminiscent of the situation with Sony and Spider-Man, where Marvel financed and produced Spider-Man: Homecoming with Sony taking box office revenue and Marvel taking product placement and merchandising revenue. However, the relationship between Marvel and Universal is such that the completion of a similar deal occurring is highly unlikely.
While the MCU has acknowledged The Incredible Hulk's place in the MCU it has done so sparingly. Characters such as Betty Ross, The Leader and Abomination are highly unlikely to ever appear in future Marvel Studios films.
4.) Chris Nolan Directs Another Batman Movie
Optimism and enthusiasm for the DC Film Universe are probably at their lowest point following the box office disappointment of Justice League. With Warner Bros. also focusing on a set of standalone DC Comics adaptations and the launch of a DC Entertainment streaming service, fans are left to wonder how many more flops WB will endure before the studio pulls the plug on the DCEU?
Combine that with a contested merger with AT&T that's currently being scrutinized in a court case at the U.S. Department of Justice and there's a real chance that Time Warner may look to sell off its individual assets if the deal falls through.
That's where news of another Christopher Nolan Batman movie would totally change the landscape. The general (non-comic reading) audience were invested in Nolan's Batman trilogy in a way that the DCEU is unlikely to ever achieve.
While promoting Dunkirk, the question of Nolan's superhero return was posed and received this response. "I mean, I watch the films. I enjoy films very much as a moviegoer these days. I spent 10 years of my life dealing with one of the greatest characters in popular fiction. It was a great honor and a privilege to work with that, but there’s a time to pass it on to new people."
It sounds as if he's truly done with the genre, but if we're asking for "Christmas Day miracles", it doesn't get any bigger and better than this.
3.) The DC Film Universe Becomes More Popular Than The MCU
This notion is probably the most (seemingly) impossible of all the ideas proposed in this list. Will a day ever come where it's the DC Film Universe that rules the box office and not the MCU? Right now, it's hard to imagine such an occurrence ever coming to pass. Still, the film industry is an ever-changing landscape.
The days of star-driven tentpoles and Fourth of July released blockbusters are only a few years distant. Just as the brand now trumps the Hollywood name and the most successful films are released in April and December, a day may come where Warner Bros. releasing a Booster Gold film is the cinema highlight of the year.
2.) Marvel Buys Warner Bros. And DC Comics
As previously mentioned, right as the Disney/Fox merger is preparing to be finalized, AT&T's acquisition of Time Warner/Warner Bros. is currently being contested by the U.S. Department of Justice. Not too long ago, a report surfaced that should the deal falter, Time Warner may look to sell off individual assets such as CNN, TBS, and yes- Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment.
Under such a scenario, it's not hard to imagine Disney swooping in and purchasing its biggest superhero rival. That would certainly make for an interesting discussion about the potential ramifications for the comic book industry.
1.)The Superhero Film Genre Implodes
It's been prognosticated for years and yet here things stand, with Avengers: Infinity War set to shatter box office records on April 27. What's even more astounding is that if The Russo Bros. knock the film out of the park, it's not hard to imagine ticket sales for Avengers 4 shattering records anew just a year later.
Still, there are nearly 30 live-action superhero TV shows airing across The CW, ABC, AMC Netflix and Hulu with many more in development. Likewise, there's a jaw-dropping number of superhero films in development at WB, Marvel Studios, 20th Century Fox, and more. Just taking a superficial pass, it would appear that studios need to produce films based on a Marvel character or have Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson starring if they want to turn a hefty profit.
If Marvel Studios ever has a serious misfire, expect the doom-and-gloom naysayers to renew their assault on superhero films with reckless abandon.