Marvel Studios’ first X-Men film is not expected to hit theaters until 2021 at the earliest. This spring, the Marvel Cinematic Universe wraps up its first era with the release of Avengers: Endgame, but they also have an exciting future ahead. In addition to plotting future installments for the likes of Black Panther, Doctor Strange, Spider-Man, and Captain Marvel, the studio is also about to welcome some high-profile newcomers. With Disney’s acquisition of Fox officially complete, the likes of the X-Men and Fantastic Four are finally under the same umbrella as Iron Man, Captain America, and the rest.

Considering how convoluted Fox’s X-Men timeline got and the absolute failure of both attempts at a Fantastic Four series, it’s a foregone conclusion Marvel will reboot both properties as they look to integrate them into the MCU. Fans have spent the past several months dreaming of all the possibilities this deal presents, but it looks like they’ll have to wait a few years before a film comes into fruition.

According to THR, due to the sheer number of MCU movies currently in various stages of development, there probably won’t be a new X-Men or Fantastic Four movie until at least 2021. Marvel is working on projects such as Black Widow and The Eternals, both of which are expected (but not yet confirmed) to premiere in 2020 as Phase 4 revs up.

The outlet does consider the vague possibility of Marvel boss Kevin Feige having “a completed script waiting in his desk drawer,” but the odds of that being reality are very low. Smartly, Feige didn’t let the notion of a Disney/Fox deal distract him from planning the next slate of MCU movies, and he was simply waiting for a phone call concerning the X-Men and Fantastic Four. Now that he knows Disney is in possession of the rights, he can move forward on trying to figure out the best way to work in those characters into the larger universe he’s developed over the past decade. That won’t be an easy task, and it’s best for Marvel to take their time instead of rushing into a half-baked idea. It honestly wouldn’t be surprising if X-Men and Fantastic Four were held off until 2022, since Black Panther 2 and Doctor Strange 2 (which are further along than any MCU X-Men movie) conceivably could be ready for 2021.

Considering the timing of all this, it’ll be curious to see if any X-Men or Fantastic Four announcements are part of something like a Hall H presentation at San Diego Comic-Con, which takes place about four months from now. Unlike their initial Phase 3 unveiling, Marvel is not going to reveal all of Phase 4 in its entirety at once. After the Phase 3 lineup went through numerous changes, they felt it was better to take things slower and focus on a couple years at a time. Obviously, that’ll all depend on how far X-Men talks are along at that point. But at least fans can take solace in knowing the X-Men and Fantastic Four will be in the MCU soon.

More: Don’t Expect to See The X-Men in the MCU Until 2021

Source: THR

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