21st Century Fox is keen to shed its entertainment divisions, and has reportedly been in talks with Disney about a landmark deal.
That’s the news that almost brought the Internet to a standstill earlier this morning, though The Wall Street Journal has since warned that the companies are no longer actively discussing the deal. That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s off the table, merely that the acquisition is a long, long way from being signed, sealed and delivered.
And though the X-Men and/or Fantastic Four crossing over into Marvel’s cinematic universe is the stuff comic book dreams are made of, it would seem industry legend Stan Lee was already one step ahead of us all – how very fitting. As reported by Digital Spy, during his appearance at Wizard World Nashville back in September, Lee told those in attendance that it’s only a matter of time before all Marvel heroes are back under the one roof.
Sooner or later, they’re going to get the rights back to all our characters. They’re working on it, and they’re still making X-Men movies and stuff. Don’t worry about it. You’ll get more Marvel superheroes than you’ll have time to look at in the next few years.
Even if Disney’s partial acquisition of Fox falls through, Stan Lee isn’t wrong; there is a multitude of comic book films cramming up the Marvel pipeline, with three poised for release in 2018 alone (see: Black Panther, Infinity War, and Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man sequel).
But in the glass-half-full scenario, a number of prominent X-Men characters could theoretically appear in the MCU – and vice versa – as they’d all exist under the one roof. And then there’s the prospect of an Avatar theme park opening under the stewardship of Disney. Oh, one can dream.
