Although Avengers: Infinity War was labelled as the most ambitious crossover event in history, it could soon find itself being bumped to second best. That’s if the deal for Disney to purchase 21st Century Fox goes through.
With the rights to the X-Men and the Fantastic Four currently owned by Fox, if the purchase does actually materialize, the potential to import those heroes into the MCU is mind-blowing. More so, much like with Sony’s Spider-Man toe-dipping into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it would be regarded as a rightfully deserved homecoming by comic book movie fans.
The prospect of this crossover has made for interesting viewing over the last little while, too. The Merc with a Mouth has more or less been down on his knees, begging to be allowed into the MCU through homages and fourth-wall breakages. He even went to the lengths of tidying his own timeline in Deadpool 2‘s post-credits sting to help ease the transition. The potential purchase could also give the MCU a Quicksilver who could actually dodge a bullet and fans of the Fantastic Four a film that they might really be able to watch.
Avengers: Infinity War screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, however, give the impression that even bringing up the subject at Marvel is a big no-no. During one of Kevin Smith’s Fatman on Batman live shows, the pair were grilled by fans on the X-Men’s potential in the MCU, and here’s what they had to say:
“When we ask Kevin (Feige), he says nothing,” McFeely remarked. “I think they’re not really allowed to think about it until that deal comes through, cause Disney’s buying Fox and all that. I assume that Kevin in bed at night is thinking about what he can do with (the X-Men).”
Although a deal had reportedly been agreed on between Disney and Fox, it’s been revealed that Comcast came in swinging with 65 million reasons why they themselves should purchase the properties. If it doesn’t happen now that it’s been teased, it will always feel like the movie world is missing something that so nearly could have been.
Hulk vs. Wolverine? Spider-Man and Deadpool teaming up? Shame. Still, we’ll always have Avengers: Infinity War, right?
