Disney CEO Bob Iger has confirmed that the X-Men, Fantastic Four and Deadpool will be introduced into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
On Thursday (14.12.17) The Walt Disney Company confirmed that they have agreed an all-stock acquisition deal for 21st Century Fox as well as obtaining other assets from media conglomerate Rupert Murdoch’s empire, whilst taking on $13.7 billion of Fox’s credit insured debt.
Fox owned the complete rights to both the ‘X-Men’ and ‘Fantastic Four’ franchises and any new character within its universe belongs solely to the studio – which led to the cancellation of the ‘Fantastic Four’ comic series.
However, Iger has now spoken to Deadline about the expansion of the MCU by introducing the iconic characters in the upcoming movies.
Iger said: "We have the opportunity to expand iconic franchises for new generations of fan just as we have done with Marvel and ‘Star Wars’.
"We’re also looking forward to expanding the Marvel Cinematic Universe to include ‘X-Men’, ‘Fantastic Four’ and ‘Deadpool’."
The ‘X-Men’ franchise and spin-offs have been successful for Fox with both the Bryan Singer trilogy, the ‘First Class’ movies, the Wolverine standalone series and R-rated ‘Deadpool’ all doing very well at the box office.
However, Marvel still does retain some input into the franchises and Fox needs Marvel to sign off on all TV deals regarding the superheroes.
However, since the Marvel owns ‘The Avengers’ there has been some overlap with characters such as Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch – who have been members of both teams in the comics.
Unlike the popular ‘X-Men’ franchise, the ‘Fantastic Four’ films haven’t been as popular at the box office.
In 2015, the franchise was rebooted starring Miles Teller, Jamie Bell, Kate Mara and Michael B. Jordan as the titular Four, however, the film was poorly received by fans and critics alike.
Disney bought 5,000 of Marvel’s characters in a deal worth $4 billion back in 2009 and the current MCU phase three is set to come to an end after the fourth ‘Avengers’ movie.
For Fox, ‘Deadpool 2’, ‘Gambit’, ‘Dark Phoenix’, ‘Multiple Man’, ‘New Mutants’ and ‘X-Force’ are currently in the works or in post-production.
Bob Iger confirms expansion of MCU after Disney buys out Fox
