Finally…the circle is complete.
Disney has officially acquired 20th Century Fox and the Marvel Cinematic Universe will vastly expand. Now with everyone wondering when we will see the incorporation of the X-Men and Fantastic Four, I believe that the process has already begun and we may see this integration sooner than expected.
Earlier today there were some questions about what Marvel’s plans were after acquiring these new characters. To sum things up, Bob Iger confirmed that Deadpool, the X-Men, and Fantastic Four were all part of their plans.
Those plans seemingly include using current characters in the Fox universe rather than rebooting them which leads to a very interesting correlation between some upcoming films.
The 1990s are the bond that will unite the two properties. The X-Men films have been moving from decade to decade since “X-Men: First Class” and with the upcoming “X-Men: Dark Phoenix,” the film will be set in the 1990s which is the same time period that Kevin Feige announced for “Captain Marvel” at San Diego Comic Con. With the setting being so “convenient,” I believe Marvel has been prepping for this merger and have had plans to use this film as the launch pad for a new era.
But while “Captain Marvel” is not due out until 2019, I believe that “X-Men: Dark Phoenix” will be the segue to introduce the connection. Those after credits scenes that we love so much will most likely be where we see the introduction of either Captain Marvel or the Skrull. And this is where Marvel starts to build the next great cinematic phase.
“I believe that “X-Men: Dark Phoenix” will be the segue to introduce the connection.”
The Skrull are also an interesting choice for villains since they have played a very broad role in the comic books. They certainly have had their share of encounters with the Avengers, but they have also been a key nemesis to the Fantastic Four. The X-Men and Captain Marvel will soon be sharing the same time period and Captain Marvel having a villain that connects a former Fox and Marvel property…this fits too well to just be a coincidence.
“[The Skrull] have also been a key nemesis to the Fantastic Four.”
In my opinion, “X-Men: Dark Phoenix” will most likely be the first glimpse we get to satiate our appetite for this merger. “Avengers: Infinity War” seems like an unlikely place to introduce any new characters since it is the culmination of so many events that have been so meticulously integrated in other individual films. While this may be a bold opinion, I think that most of the groundwork has already been laid. “X-Men: Dark Phoenix” should help lead us to “Captain Marvel” which will most likely lead to the introduction of the Fantastic Four.
From there, things will be interesting as “Avengers: Infinity War Part 2” debuts. Captain Marvel is supposed to make her way into the film but given her character being set in the 1990s, how she is introduced is questionable.
But if they are able to find a seamless means of integrating her into the MCU, then introducing other characters based in the period can follow that same methodology.