When it was announced that Disney was making moves to acquire 20th Century Fox, the internet all but exploded at the prospect of the X-Men and the Marvel Cinematic Universe finally being under the same roof. With X-Men having evolved into a flagship superhero franchise a full eight years before Iron Man ever launched the MCU, the idea of these two Marvel comic book properties being combined was indeed an intriguing one. Now, however, a leading Marvel Studios figure has slammed the brakes on such speculation – urging caution on the subject, lest audiences set themselves up for disappointment.
Andy Park – the Marvel Studios Visual Design Supervisor, whose work on characters, costumes and creatures can be found in such movies as Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2, and Thor: Ragnarok – was recently interviewed by ComicBook.com and explained his insider position on the subject.
“So, I was at the Stan Lee Comic Con last year… I got interviewed and I got the exact same question, like, ‘What are some of the characters you would dream of designing or working on?’ My answer is always the X-Men characters. And I’m like, ‘But it’s never gonna happen.’ But, we also used to say that about Spider-Man, so you never know, you know?”
Park goes on to confirm that, while news of the Fox acquisition came as a surprise, it’s important to remember that it’s a lengthy process, and any creative projects leading to the merging of the X-Men and the MCU would happen much further down the line.
“That’s probably as much as I can say, ‘cause there’s nothing really to say yet. At least beyond, ‘Wow.’ That whole Disney buying Fox deal is – none of us saw that coming, and we’re amazed and excited, because we always dreamed of having the X-Men and Fantastic Four in the MCU – but nothing’s actually been decided or announced. So, I have nothing to spill, ‘cause I don’t even know what the future is. The only thing I’ve read… these things are going to take at least 12 months to 18 months for something to happen.”
“If people are expecting to see them in one of our upcoming films, like, they might be disappointed. I don’t know. I would love to see them, too, but I have no idea when they’re actually going to come out, but I’m excited for the future. I can’t wait to find out.”
In conclusion, then, it certainly is possible that some combination of X-Men, Avengers, and Fantastic Four will share the big screen one day – but that day will not be arriving any time soon. Firstly – while it looks increasingly likely to succeed – the acquisition deal is not yet guaranteed to completion. If and when it is achieved – perhaps in 18 months time – then work may begin on some kind of crossover. But, it’s important to remember that the MCU release slate is already pretty full into at least 2020, with plans extending beyond.
In the event that the acquisition fails for some reason, it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that Disney would seek out the rights to the Fantastic Four characters, at least – particularly since the audience support for a potential crossover has been so vocal, and so fierce. Either way, there are surely exciting things afoot for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the X-Men, and the Fantastic Four – just don’t expect to see them for a number of years.