It’s probably, finally, going to happen.
After months of will they/won’t they debates, a bidding war with the deep-pocketed Comcast and some worries over the mind-boggling amounts of money involved, The Walt Disney Company is finally about to complete their purchase of 21st Century Fox and all its yummy mutant flavored intellectual property.
The most eye-catching result, of course, will be the X-Men making their debut in the MCU. How this will happen remains anyone’s guess, though my money’s on Disney completely recasting the roles and putting a new spin on favorites like Magneto, Wolverine and Cyclops in order to slot them neatly into the existing cinematic universe.
Chalk that up as speculation for now, and it should be noted that this potentially historic merger is still subject to regulatory approval, so Disney isn’t across the finish line just yet, but that doesn’t mean fans can’t start thinking about all the great characters who are now headed home. And that’s exactly what the folks at ComicBookMovie.com have done, as they’ve put together the below list of every major hero/villain who’s set to return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe thanks to the Disney/Fox deal.
Without further ado, here’s who you can look forward to seeing:
- Wolverine
- Doctor Doom
- Annihilus
- The Sentinels
- Mole Man
- Magneto
- Super-Skrulls
- Deadpool
- Sabretooth
- Galactus
- Silver Surfer
- Mr. Sinister
- Franklin And Valeria Richards
- The Juggernaut
- The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants
- Namor the Sub-Mariner
- H.E.R.B.I.E.
- Apocalypse
- Kang the Conquerer
- The X-Men
- The Fantastic Four
It makes for quite an exhaustive list, eh? And again, those are only the major characters. Aside from them, there’s also a ton of supporting players who’ll be making the trip over to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, too. As exciting as it may be though to start imagining all the possibilities now that these folks will be returning home, don’t expect to see any of them popping up just yet.
Kevin Feige’s already gone on record – numerous times, mind you – to state that no plans have been made for the Fox characters to start appearing in the MCU and things won’t really be set into motion until the Fox/Disney deal is 100% signed, sealed and delivered. Which, as of now, it’s not.
Still, there’s very little chance it’ll fall through at this stage and we’d imagine that by the end of Phase 4, we’ll start seeing some seeds planted for the arrival of the X-Men, the Fantastic Four and all these other great properties that are now on their way back home.
