With the release of the latest Marvel film, Thor: Ragnarok being a thunderous success, I think it’s safe to say that Marvel movies made by Marvel themselves are fantastic. The same can sadly not be said about Marvel movies made by other studios. While Deadpool and Logan have both proven themselves to be excellent films in their own right, many of the other X-Men films have been incredibly underwhelming and the less said about the Fantastic Four movies or Sony’s Spider-Man endeavours, the better.
And while Sony and Marvel were able to come to an agreement over everyone’s favourite webbed hero, 20th Century Fox continues to maintain creative control over the X-Men and Fantastic Four franchises, much to comic book fans’ disappointment. That may change in the foreseeable future though as CNBC has reported that Marvel’s parent company Disney is looking into acquiring the rights for these properties back from Fox.
This would be part of a larger acquisition, as parent company Fox is reportedly looking to restructure and focus on their news and sports platforms, and wanting to sell off the rest. which includes their movie/TV rights as well as some international assets. Besides for the Marvel properties, those movie and TV rights also contain the Avatar, Alien, Predator, Die Hard, Ice Age and Planet of the Apes franchises among others, but it’s uncertain if all of those will be acquired.
There’s actually a fair bit of uncertainty, as not only is it still early days in these talks, but it would seem that talks have already ceased as the two studios are currently not communicating. However, it has been pointed out that there’s an ebb and flow to these discussions so talks will probably resume again in the near future. All of this means though a deal is by no means an absolute certainty, but we can still dream, can’t we?
After the poorly received X-Men: Apocalypse, and the not-so-fantastic bungling of their Fantastic Four reboot, it’s clear that these franchises need some new guiding hands though. Not to mention that with Logan closing the story arc on Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine – arguably the only decent thing they did with the X-Men Universe outside of Deadpool – it’s as good time as any to bring closure to their movies, though everything currently in progress by the studio will obviously continue with development.
While it’s worthwhile to remind fans that it’s too early to get excited about this yet, the possibilities of what Marvel could achieve with these properties are enough to get any geek excited. I mean, just think of how good a proper Fantastic Four movie could be? With a decent Doctor Doom? It could solve all of Marvel’s villain problems right there. Not to mention all the incredible cosmic characters like Galactus and Annihilus (who both play a gigantic role in some of the best Guardians of the Galaxy stories) that Marvel has had to avoid until now because they were wrapped up in the Fantastic Four rights. And what about mutants and the X-Men storyline creeping their way into the rest of the Marvel Universe and the consequences and potential that could have on those storylines? I can feel my pulse jump just by thinking about it.
So yes, it’s unlikely to happen anytime soon that we get a Marvel take on these franchises, but I would like to think it’s a virtual certainty, especially with the amount of money Disney has at the moment. Fans may just need to be patient for a while longer and be content with the current pipeline of excellent Marvel movies coming our way until then.
Last Updated: November 7, 2017
Ottokie
November 7, 2017 at 10:12
Well all Marvel movies and series are pretty childish these days so I see nothing wrong in this.
Magoo
November 7, 2017 at 10:30
Your face is childish!
Ottokie
November 7, 2017 at 10:34
No. You!
Magoo
November 7, 2017 at 10:46
Oh… okay. You win this round.
Alien Emperor Trevor
November 7, 2017 at 10:42
It’s like anime for adults.
Ottokie
November 7, 2017 at 10:50
Anime is for adults you uncultured swine.
Alien Emperor Trevor
November 7, 2017 at 11:28
https://68.media.tumblr.com/ff155ba1fd79790768793cc9d80e8851/tumblr_nahbbgrp3M1sr6759o1_500.gif
Original Heretic
November 7, 2017 at 10:14
Doesn’t matter if it’s not “soon”! As long as it happens!
Marvel’s plans are already set for the next few years, so even if we only get an X-Men crossover in 5 years, it’ll be worth the wait.
Because we know, we bloody KNOW, that Marvel is going to do them characters justice!
Now if only Sony can get their grubby paws off Spidey and friends, we can finally get a fully cohesive MCU…
Skittle
November 7, 2017 at 10:15
I would love a Marvel Fantastic Four movie
Original Heretic
November 7, 2017 at 10:30
It would be marvelous, wouldn’t it….
Magoo
November 7, 2017 at 10:30
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/cae2db76617fe9ea33c8561077003f02e5d4c1e0621907f86ad5256844604b0e.jpg
Original Heretic
November 7, 2017 at 10:33
Begone, naysayer!!!!
Alien Emperor Trevor
November 7, 2017 at 10:42
What’s with the professional jealousy, original naysayer?
Original Heretic
November 7, 2017 at 10:45
There’s nothing professional about my jealously, it’s strictly amateur. Polished, yes, but still amateur, nevertheless.
I have a massive, uh, um, heart….yes, heart…for superhero movies. I’ll watch ’em ’til the day I die!