Disney–Fox Merger Update: Those Crossover Dreams Are Closer to Being Realized Than Fans Think
The Disney and Fox merger is expected to be finalized by summer next year, which should be good news to those who are already thinking about the endless crossover possibilities the mega-deal will allow with the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
In a recent town hall meeting, 21st Century Fox president Peter Rice announced that the deal could be completed between the spring 2019 and end of summer of the same year.
When it is all finalized, Disney will become the owner of the key Fox assets, which include 20th Century Fox Television TV studio, FX Networks, and of course, 20th Century Fox movie studio, which currently has the rights to some popular Marvel characters that fans hope will soon find their way to home.
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The MCU as fans know it will never be the same after "Avengers 4," which will hit the theaters next year. By then, Marvel Studios will have a clean slate.
Whoever makes it out alive in the war against Thanos will appear in the next round of movies, but Marvel is bound to mostly introduce new characters to the fold in the next few years.
This early, the entertainment giant is already putting its new roster together, but so many things could change once Disney fully acquires Fox, which, as fans know, is the owner of the X-Men and Fantastic Four properties.
This means that Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool might get to meet the Avengers sooner than later, whoever the members of that line-up may be post-"Infinity War." The X-Men and other mutants will likely make their way the MCU in the near future, too.
Marvel recently brought the Fantastic Four back to the comics, and fans immediately envisioned a live-action adaptation starring the superhero team.
Fox's latest reboot attempt did not go well, and many believe that if Marvel Studios got it right with Spider-Man after Sony Pictures decided to finally bring the character to the MCU, the company could do the same with the Fantastic Four as well.
The supergroup deserves a good live-action treatment, especially since Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, and Thing make up the first-ever family of superheroes to ever grace the pages of Marvel Comics.
With the Disney-Fox merger estimated to be done in a year, these comic book characters are expected to be able to interact with the characters in the MCU sooner rather than later.
The deal is set to make the cinematic universe bigger than ever and with a wealth of characters Marvel should get access by summer next year, it shouldn't be long before Disney gets the ball rolling on crossovers.
Not everyone is thrilled, though, since the X-Men and the X-Force being brought to Disney comes with the risk of the nature of their stories to be tweaked to better fit the representation the company keeps.
Deadpool getting "Disney-fied" would mean losing one of the best things that made the live-action character a hit. However, the company is expected to recognize this and find a way to keep the character the way he is (the same goes for the X-Men and the X-Force) because at some point, sharing the screen with an Avenger will not cut it for some fans.
