The world of blockbusters movies and superhero franchises are in an interesting place right now. With Disney possibly accruing Fox and all of its properties, it means that characters like the X-Men might finally be crossing over to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This concept is definitely an exciting one for comic book fans 9 (and Stan Lee), who had been hoping for characters like Deadpool to meet other wise crackers like Ant-Man or Tony Stark. But there are also plenty of naysayers out there, who claim that Disney would have control over too many major properties at once. But X-Men producer Lauren Shuler Donner seems to be open to the idea. Specifically, she'd love to work with Marvel and Disney's major contributors.
Look, it's 18 months [away], so who knows. For me, I think Bob Iger is one of the smartest men in the country. Alan Horn's an old friend. Kevin Feige was my intern and assistant and then my associate producer on the first X-Men. Kevin and I started the X-Men together, so for me if we work with Kevin, I'm happy.
It looks like Lauren Shuler Donner seems mostly excited at possibly crossing the X-Men over to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After all, she'd get to work with Kevin Feige after all these years.
Lauren Shuler Donner is a major figure of the X-Men franchise. She's produced or executive produced every single X-Men movie, including Deadpool and Logan. It was back in 2000 when Donner worked alongside Kevin Feige, who was an intern on the original X-Men film. Who could have guessed that Feige would ultimately end up being the head of Marvel Studios, juggling the shared universe's overall direction and myriad film projects.
During an appearance at TCA (via Rotten Tomatoes) Lauren Shuler Donner very briefly discussed how the X-Men franchise might be affected by Disney's acquisition of Fox. The company's possible merger has implications across all forms of media, including film, TV, and streaming entertainment. And while there are certainly some potential downsides to the merger, all Marvel fans can think about is how awesome it would be to see the X-Men teaming up with The Avengers or Guardians of the Galaxy.
It always felt strange that a handful of Marvel characters were absent from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With Thanos fast approaching for an apocalyptic battle in Infinity War and Avengers 4, it'll feel strange that the X-Men, X-Force, and Fantastic Four aren't on the front lines. Ultimately Disney does seem cognizant of this disconnected, making steps forward through a groundbreaking deal with Sony to acquire the rights to Spider-Man. Now they've got their eyes on Fox's superheroes, and only time will tell where the chips ultimately lie with this possibly merger.
The next X-Men film will be The New Mutants on April 13, 2018. In the meantime, check out our 2018 premiere list to plan your trips to the movies this year.
