Even with all of the MCU’s successes heading into its 12th year of existence, one obstacle that seems to always be a thorn in Marvel Studios’s side is the complicated issue of character rights. Kevin Feige and crew have made huge progress over the years in that regard with the Sony agreement over Spider-Man and Disney’s recent merger with Fox to bring the X-Men and Fantastic 4 into the fold, and today brings us a rumor of more potential good news for all of the fans. MCUCosmic has reported that Marvel may have recently gained full control and rights to both the Hulk and Namor the Submariner!
The Hulk has has a much more messy history in his live action storytelling than anyone would care for, the rights to the character laying in the hands of Universal Studios for years. Marvel have been able to use him in team-up movies (eg, Thor: Ragnarok and all four Avengers titles) without any issue, but the distribution rights for any potential solo outing would belong to Universal even if Marvel Studios made the movie (similar to Sony with both MCU Spider-Man solo films.) Kevin Feige also recently met with Mark Ruffalo, reportedly to discuss the Hulk’s future in the MCU, and with his future after Avengers: Endgame still very open to a number of outcomes, new doors seem to be opening if Marvel gains the rights back and can make new exciting movies featuring our favorite jolly green giant.
The Hulk would potentially have company rights-wise as well with Namor the Submariner if this deal comes through, a character that fans have been dying to see with the Avengers for a long time coming. Even though he may not get his own solo movie due to the success of DC’s Aquaman, the potential of Namor as either a friend or foe of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes is overwhelmingly exciting, and he’s a hero for which fans would undoubtedly flock to the theatres to see. We’ll have to wait and see if this rumor comes to fruition, but it is beyond exciting nonetheless!
Source: MCUCosmic
