The X-Men and The Fantastic Four are scheduled for a brilliant homecoming with Marvel Studios, almost 5 years after Fox was acquired by Disney in a 71.38 billion-dollar deal. X-Men and The Fantastic Four, along with Spider-Man were the premiere characters of the Marvel Universe, with the Avengers being relegated to B-tier status.
In two days, Marvel dropped the teaser for Deadpool & Wolverine and also introduced that world to the cast of its very own interaction of the Fantastic Four, one that will appear as a part of the shared Cinematic Universe that Marvel has set up with its Avengers IP.
Given how popular the X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Spider-Man are, it seems completely reasonable to speculate that there might be some Spider-Man news on the horizon, one that will be delivered within the week to the audiences.
X-Men and Fantastic Four might signal Marvel gaining its momentum back
Ever since the Marvel Cinematic Universe began its development, the producers have had to rely on what were considered B-tier characters. Before the success of the MCU, it was difficult to find mainstream audiences that were able to name any Marvel characters beyond X-Men, The Fantastic Four, and Spider-Man, all of whose film rights were not available to the Studio at the time. However, needless to say, Marvel was able to capitalize on its B-tier characters, like The Avengers and their adjacent properties.
However, in 2016, Captain America: Civil War introduced Spider-Man, where Sony struck a deal with Marvel to share the film rights of the characters to allow him to appear in teh MCU. Then, in 2019, Disney acquired 21st Century Fox, reverting the rights of Marve characters like the X-Men and The Fantastic Four back to Marvel.
Now, five years later, Marvel has finally taken the step to launch these properties in a feature-length capacity, releasing the teaser for Deadpool 3 and announcing the cast of the Fantastic Four. With two of the biggest Marvel properties back in with its original owners, one can assume that Marvel might be gearing up to take back its place in the cultural zeitgeist, which it has seemingly lost in the last few years.
A Spider-Man announcement is all that Marvel needs
With Deadpool and the Fantastic Four both having received major announcements, it seems a Spider-Man update might just be on the horizon. Given that Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, and the X-Men are still the biggest properties that Marvel has, along with the fact that Deadpool & Wolverine is the only MCU release of the year, it makes sense that Marvel would like to use 2024 to lay as much groundwork as they can before they enter the last leg of the Multiverse Saga.
Further, Marvel might want to paint the Spider-Man IP in a more positive light, shifting the focus away from Madame Web, given the reactions that critics and fans have had concerning the film.
Marvel might finally be able to establish a cinematic universe using its premiere properties, and not rely on the Avengers alone, keeping the universe a diverse and lively place, and allowing the creators within the franchise to tell smaller stories without having to worry about the shared universe breaking down.
Deadpool & Wolverine is set to release on 26th July 2024.
The Fantastic Four is set to release on 25th July 2025.
