The official word is finally out. We finally have a date when Marvel Studios has the official go to use the various Marvel properties owned by 20th Century Fox. X-Men, Deadpool and Fantastic Four are finally going to join the MCU at some point. It looks like 2019 will be a major year for Kevin Feige‘s plans for the future. Peter Rice, the President of 21st Century Fox and future TV Executive for Disney, has confirmed that the merger will potentially come together as soon as January 1st, 2019. This is not a fixed date, as the negotiations could drag on throughout the first half of 2019 but it does solidify that Marvel Studios will have the opportunity to handle the new IPs sooner than later. Rice does point out that the final dealings will either occur during the first or second quarter, as the remaining Fox assets not purchased by Disney will be united under the banner of “New Fox”. So, it is unsure if they’ll be able to use the IPs until specific negotiations are finalized. The new TV division seems to have been established and a hierarchy is set, so their movie departments are most likely next in line so that is a good sign.
It is great timing as well. Avengers 4 will end the first ten years of the MCU and quite an era. We will most likely see some major players like Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans leaving the franchise behind. Now, they will most likely seek to find some new franchise headliners to join Black Panther, Doctor Strange and Captain Marvel. The most likely candidate could be Wolverine, as he is the most iconic member of the mutants and Hugh Jackman‘s iconic role was ended on a high note. Fox still has a few films in development that will air in 2019 so it is unsure if they will still move forward with these projects. Money was invested so it would be a waste not to push them but there are a lot of uncertainties surrounding this project. Also, we most likely won’t see an MCU film for the Fox-owned franchises until 2021 or 2022 but we could see some announcements in the coming months throughout 2019. Even if the deal is finalized early next year, we still have a bit of a wait ahead of us. Still, that won’t stop us of thinking of ways how they could integrate the mutants and the Fantastic Four into the MCU.
Are you excited? What do you think Marvel Studios will do first?
