Disney’s impending acquisition of 20th Century Fox and its precious entertainment assets will completely overhaul the media landscape, that much we know, but it’s looking increasingly likely that we’ll begin to see the ramifications of said merger sooner rather than later.
At least, that’s according to Brent Andrew (h/t Bleeding Cool), who was allegedly in the right place at the right time (read: a college lecture featuring high-level Fox production crew members) to gather intel about the Mouse House’s future plans for the X-Men now that the acquisition is almost complete.
Treat this unverified ‘scoop’ as just that, but it seems 20th Century Fox and Disney have agreed upon one thing: Dark Phoenix will be the final X-Men movie to release under Fox, before those mutants – Deadpool and the Fantastic Four included – are “hoovered up” by Kevin Feige and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in time for Phase 4, which is expected to kick off soon after the release of Avengers 4 in 2019.
It’s certainly interesting, if a little implausible. For one, Comic Genre’s report doesn’t allude to The New Mutants or Gambit whatsoever, though it should be noted that each movie will likely release as a standalone product that exists outside of the current X-Men continuity.
Should that hold true, Dark Phoenix will be tasked with bringing the curtain down on Fox’s acclaimed prequel saga. It’s also being reported that the pic is facing a difficult time in production, with sources claiming that the SFX team has been forced to digitally recreate entire sets that were destroyed/dismantled once the initial bout of filming had been completed.
So, suffice it to say, there’s plenty here to chew on for X-Men fans, who are now keeping one eye trained on May 18th in anticipation of Deadpool 2.
