At one time, it seemed mind-boggling that Sony, who controlled the film rights to the lucrative, massively popular Spider-Man, would ever want to share the pot of gold that that property brings in with anyone else. However, two things happened. First, they watched Marvel become a beloved, blockbuster behemoth and second, the studio’s reboot, “The Amazing Spider-Man,” fizzled with fans and scotched Sony’s plans to build an expansive movie universe around the webslinger. So, they struck a deal with Marvel and it’s safe to say that next summer’s “Spider-Man: Homecoming” is one of the most anticipated comic book movie events of 2017.
Seeing those two companies come together for the common good has spurred plenty of discussion and online chatter regarding 20th Century Fox, and what they should do with X-Men and Fantastic Four. Indeed, with X-Men currently being reworked for a future with Bryan Singer, and possibly without Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, and James McAvoy (their contracts have expired and will be expensive to renegotiate), and Fox mum on Fantastic Four after last year’s disastrous reboot attempt, it would seem the prime time for Marvel to save the day. But it’s not going to happen.
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“It’s an impossibility at this juncture. We certainly have enough films to keep us busy for a number of lifetimes,” Kevin Feige told Variety when asked about those Fox characters.
Indeed, Marvel’s cinematic universe is already pretty damn massive as it is, and while we’re sure Feige and co. would love to have Magneto, Wolverine, and more back under their roof, working them organically into the narrative would be quite a feat, and probably a long way off anyway. And with Marvel showing they can take second and third tier characters like Doctor Strange and turn them into mainstream hits, the need for recognizable superheroes is probably not as important as it was when they were starting out.
So, sorry fanboys, you can stop the online petitions, because Marvel is just fine chugging along as they are. Perhaps we’ll see more character swaps with Fox like they did for “Deadpool” and “Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2“ but don’t expect any big collaborations between the studios anytime soon.