While news of the Fox-Disney merger sent the internet into a flurry of speculation on how upcoming releases like Avengers 4 could bring such cherished properties as X-Men and Fantastic Four into the MCU, it’s worth remembering that the deal hasn’t gone through quite yet, suggesting that it may still be some time before this arrangement starts impacting the movies in any considerable way.
That being said, these changes might be coming a little sooner than expected, with a new report mentioning that the deal could be closed by the end of 2018, or more likely, early 2019. This essentially means that Fox’s current toy box of Marvel heroes and villains will be Disney property before the next MCU film – Captain Marvel, that is – has made its way to cinemas.
Though it was previously forecast that the deal wouldn’t go through until Spring or early Summer, this earlier estimation suggests that Marvel Studios may have time to tease their newly acquired properties in next year’s Avengers 4. As the final film of the MCU’s Phase 3, this sequel to Infinity War will be responsible for pointing the way to the franchise’s future, which will apparently include a few mutants, along with Marvel’s First Family.
While we’re not saying that Wolverine is going to suddenly pop up amidst the fight against Thanos and deliver the final, adamantium-clawed blow to the Mad Titan, surely a post-credits teaser or two doesn’t seem completely implausible at this point. Of course, the Russo Brothers-helmed flick will already have an insane number of familiar characters on its plate, so you can imagine that providing a satisfying conclusion to the franchise’s first eleven years will take priority over introducing some new faces.
We’ll see if and how this deal affects the final cut of Avengers 4 when the film hits theaters on May 3rd, 2019.