The superhero genre is in a fascinating time right now. The MCU is riding high on the success of Avengers: Endgame, while DC has pivoted away from crossovers and into director-driven movies like Aquaman. 20th Century Fox was always the home to the X-Men universe, although Disney's acquisition of the company and its assets mark the end of the mutant-centric franchise as we know it.
All eyes are on what Marvel Studios will do with the X-Men and Deadpool, especially since the latter has proven to be endlessly profitable. And if there's one person who knows what's ahead, it's Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige. CinemaBlend's Sean O'Connell got to speak with Feige ahead of Spider-Man: Far From Home's release, and asked if there was a plan for the mutants. To which Feige said:
Yes. And the other secret is that we never stop thinking about it. You're always thinking about things. We're always sitting in rooms, coming up with cool stories about anything. So we had been thinking about it for years. The fact that they're back now, the fact that they're back home or they belong -- that Marvel (now) has what DC has, what Harry Potter has, what Star Wars has, which is access to all of their characters. Right? You sort of take for granted that… it's unusual for a company not to have access to all their characters. And the fact now that we have almost all of them back is pretty nice. It's pretty amazing.
Kevin Feige was careful not to give away any actual information to Sean O'Connell regarding the X-Men's adoption into the MCU. Still, it seems that the storytelling potential with having almost all of the Marvel characters in one franchise is endless.
As the Marvel Cinematic Universe continued to grow over the past decade of filmmaking, the X-Men have been noticeably missing from the exciting crossover-heavy action. 20th Century Fox kept the mutants in their own universe, starting pre-MCU with 2000's X-Men. Deadpool helped keep the brand relevant, although hardcore comic book fans were hoping that worlds would eventually collide, bringing all the characters together.
Related: Kevin Feige Says X-Men Will ‘Come Home’ To The MCU
Now that Disney and Fox's merger is official (complete with countless layoffs), the Marvel Cinematic Universe should finally be able to bring in Professor X and his band of superpowered misfits to the silver screen. Although it seems that the studio may wait a few years before rebooting such an iconic and long-running franchise.
This break sound like a wise choice, as Dark Phoenix has only just arrived in theaters (after a record breaking low opening). The moviegoing public is going to need a break from the X-Men before they're rebooted fro the MCU. Especially considering that Dark Phoenix was such a massive critical and box office disappointment. As for Deadpool, that franchise is expected to stay the same-- although fans would love if he crossed over to interact with Spider-Man and the rest of The Avengers.
Spider-Man: Far From Home will arrive in theaters on July 2nd. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
