Though the current incarnation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is on the verge of a blockbuster crescendo thanks to Avengers: Infinity War and its 2019 sequel, comic book fans are keeping one eye on the horizon now that Disney has made its move to acquire 20th Century Fox as part of a $52.4 billion acquisition.
That potentially historic deal, which would lead to drastic changes all across the current movie landscape, is still waiting to be approved, and though Kevin Feige has long expressed his desire to incorporate the X-Men into the Marvel Cinematic Universe – ditto for Fantastic Four and Deadpool – Marvel’s head honcho recently told Entertainment Weekly that at least for now, the MCU of 2018 remains top priority.
It’s all about getting Infinity War finished and out, starting Captain Marvel, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Untitled Avengers, the next Spider-Man, and Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3. These are the ones that are keeping us busy. When and how that deal with Fox finishes and comes together and we’re told, ‘Hey, now you can start working on it. Now you can start thinking about it,’ is when we’ll actually start thinking about it. I will say just the notion of having what, frankly, most other companies with [intellectual property] have all along, which is access to all of their characters, that would be fun.
With that in mind, chances are Marvel Studios will hold fire until 2020 or 2021 before it opens its doors to the X-Men universe, by which point the MCU will be in the midst of Phase 4 – a period in which Marvel is expected to overhaul its interconnected franchise from the ground up.
And make no mistake, Feige and his team are ready to pull out the rug from beneath us all:
You start to think differently about how the characters are interacting, what character’s stories are coming to a close, and what character’s stories are only just beginning. Those stories will continue. I think they’ll continue in surprisingly different and unexpected ways after these two Avengers films.
And it all begins on April 27th. Yes, Avengers: Infinity War will be a defining moment in the MCU’s history – the end of one era and the beginning of the next.
