X-Men and Fantastic Four’s Murky Future

Unfortunately, no. Marvel does want the rights back. But reports early in November about Disney looking to buy out 20th Century Fox have apparently already been scuppered. Multiple news outlets, including Bloomberg, are saying that the two companies have already decided they can’t reach a deal. This is sad news for many, as anyone who is a fan of the MCU would love to see a movie with Rogue finally able to fly, or where Sue and Johnny Storm look like actual siblings. That’s not to mention the sheer epic scale of a movie that not only ropes in all the Avengers, but also the might of the X-Men and Fantastic Four. Secret Wars movie anyone?

While it’s disappointing, it certainly doesn’t mean the end of the MCU. At Marvel Studios, boss man Kevin Feige has recently stated they have another 20 movies coming up on top of the 22 that are already wrapped, or are near as dammit. That represent hours and hours of MCU goodness that we still have to look forward to. The big question is what the hell these movies will actually be about as it’s very clear the Infinity War will be a conclusion to the current iteration of the MCU. Many contracts key players are set to expire after the as yet unnamed second Infinity War movie, which is reportedly unnamed to avoid spoilers.

This implies that, at the end of ‘Avengers: Infinity War’, we’re going to get a flashing neon sign of an indicator as to where things are headed. It also suggests we could be in for a total bloodbath, a mass cull of heroes to enable a fresh start and a handover to, as Scarlet Johansen put it when speaking to Vanity Fair, “The next generation.” So who could that next generation be? It would be surprising, and unlikely, that Spidey, Dr. Strange, Black Panther, Captain Marvel and Ant-Man will only be blessed with a single solo outing each; we already know there’s a second Spidey movie coming, and culling their first black and first female leading characters after a single movie could result in a huge Marvel backlash.
It’s also been confirmed that Guardians Three will be a launch pad of sorts for a journey into the wider cosmic universe of the MCU. This opens up options for a whole host of new characters such as Adam Warlock (who’s had a couple of nods already), Nova (who seems like a relatively likely bet given the presence of the Nova Corps) and even Beta Ray Bill (who’s existence was confirmed to eagle-eyed fans in Ragnarok). There’s even a chance Mark Ruffalo might finally get his own standalone movie.

If you count up these possible candidates and add them to existing characters with only a single solo movie as yet, that leaves us with ten heroes. While it’s not even been hinted at that this is the plan it’s also not impossible, and after creating such a solid foundation with it’s well known characters, Marvel may now have the confidence to start bringing these lesser known characters to the fore. Whatever happens, we know that the MCU has a long way to go. Certainly showing no signs of slowing down.

What do you anticipate for these franchise’s futures? Let Nerdbot know in the comments!