In an interview with Perception’s Jeremy Lasky, Kevin Feige answered several questions over a broad spectrum of MCU-related topics. One question gave us some insight into a topic about which many fans have some very intense feelings: having all of Marvel’s characters share the screen together.

Lasky began the inquiry by addressing Hugh Jackman’s comments regarding the special circumstance under which he would consider returning as Wolverine: in an MCU film with the Avengers. Lasky followed  up by asking Feige “Is that the grand plan to get all the Marvel characters back at some point under one umbrella?”

After briefly praising Jackman’s performance in Logan, Feige went on to give an answer that gives a glimmer of hope to those of us who deeply desire to see characters such as Reed Richards, the Thing, Doctor Doom, Kang and the Silver Surfer share the screen with the current and future heroes and villains of the MCU.

“But yes, of course. My goal is to replicate the experience that comic book fans have reading the books up on the screen. And we’ve been able to accomplish that beyond my wildest dreams over the last ten years by including Spidey in Civil War and the upcoming Infinity War was yet another dream that I didn’t even dare to talk about publicly because I thought the odds of it were very slim.“

Feige completed his thought by saying something we found most interesting:

“So, no plans beyond that for the few remaining characters that aren’t already in the MCU but never say never. Who knows what can happen in the future?”

While that isn’t any sort of assurance that we’ll ever see the X-Men or Fantastic Four in the MCU, it doesn’t sound very much like no and certainly not the “impossibility” he once described.  Last October Feige told Collider that there had been no change in any dynamic with Fox and just last week repeated to the site that there were no plans to acquire the rights of the Fantastic Four and related characters. So while we could point to some VERY minor inconsistencies in Feige’s comments, it certainly seems he’s staying on very set course.

Of course Feige has also been very cagey while describing the future of the MCU saying only that it will look very different and, despite once saying they have a fairly good idea of what movies they’ll be making in 2020 and beyond, committing only to the Spider-Man sequel and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. There’s also been the times that Feige has described the titles of the films in 2020 as spoilers but that they’re only focusing on the current slate which, to be fair, is less than halfway complete. So when Feige says they don’t have any plans for things, it seems like he’s REALLY trying to tell you to quit asking him about things in Phase 4 and that he considers those things a long way away.

So, if Feige kind of has plans for 2020 and beyond (sometimes he does have plans and sometimes he’s not thinking about plans), then maybe when he says they have no plans for the Fantastic Four anytime soon, maybe he’s referring to the same kind of timeline. Obviously this is just grasping at straws, but maybe when Feige says he doesn’t have plans and also says “never say never” he might just mean he’s not ready to tell us about them yet. Maybe like when he was asked about the Spider-Man rumors in October of 2014 and he responded by saying “anything that wasn’t specifically and obviously revealed today is either not true at all, or still rumor until it’s worked out,” he isn’t ready to tell us about it yet because he is telling the truth and no deal has been reached yet. However, just because a deal hasn’t been reached does not mean one couldn’t be in time for a 2020 film. Take it with a grain of salt, but the rumor that Fox is waiting to see how Spider-Man: Homecoming works out before making a similar deal with Marvel Studios has certainly been bandied about. If we knew something more, we’d tell you but we are fans just like you and when Feige says “never say never” it makes us just as thoughtful and happy.

The entire video, which includes some interesting insight is embedded below. What are your thoughts? Is Kevin Feige playing poker with us all? Does his gradual change of mind from “impossibility” to “a goal” give you as much hope as it does us? Could Feige’s ultimate goal be a Secret Wars film, bringing all the different universes together in one, epic battle? I know one thing: if Kevin Feige has a goal, I wouldn’t be against him.

 

 

Source: Perception, via Screen Rant, Variety, Collider