Since the release ofThe Avengers6 years ago, Marvel fans around the world have been hopeful that theX-Menwill one day make their way to theMarvel Cinematic Universe, joining other heroes like Iron Man and Spider-Man, as they did in the comics. People’s hopes began to come true late last year when Disney struck a deal to purchase 20th Century FOX and practically all of FOX’s entities. This, as Marvel fans quickly pointed out, would include the X-Men and Fantastic Four, meaning these Marvel heroes would finally be able to join the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
While theDisney / FOX dealis not yet finalized, as deals of this size usually take at least a year to complete, Marvel fans are anxious to see the MCU grow larger to include the characters owned by FOX. While this inclusion isn’t technically a “sure thing” just yet, it is pretty likely that we may one day see the X-Men and Avengers collide on-screen.
One question many people have been asking, however, is how the X-Men can exist in the thoroughly-established MCU. Many have pointed out that the events ofThe Avengersand other movies in the series would have panned out differently if mutants existed in the world. Additionally, theX-Menmovie universe has become a lot more well established in recent years, with at least one movie coming out annually. All in all, it would seem that a crossover would be tricky to pull off, even if the entireX-Menfranchise was rebooted.
This week, at Astronomicon,Avengers: Infinity Wardirectors Joe and Anthony Russo were asked about how they would see the integration going down between the Avengers andX-Men, and whether or not they’d want to be involved. While the Russo brothers declined to say whether or not they’d be open to directing any futureAvengersprojects, Anthony Russo did suggest a brilliant way to cross-over the two franchises.
“If Disney’s takeover of Fox ends, it’s a lot more characters to work with at once. It might be worth doing something like Secret Wars.”
Fans of the comics will remember the fairly recent Marvel event Secret Wars, which featured the crossover ofmultiple Marvel universes. This was the time when the “Ultimate Marvel Universe” came to an abrupt end, when this universe collided with the Mainstream Marvel Universe. It was a crossover event for the comics, featuring the “Mainstream” heroes meating their “Ultimate” versions. The effects of this crossover have become a major part of Marvel Comics today.
Having the Marvel Cinematic Universe collide with theX-MenUniverse in the style ofSecret Warswould certainly be “worth doing,” as Anthony Russo stated this week, according to Heroic Hollywood. Not only would this method manage to stay true to both of the pre-established worlds ofThe Avengersand theX-Men, but it can also follow a beloved story arc from the comics, which could potentially make it an even bigger crossover event thanInfinity War!
