Bob Iger confirms that X-Men, Deadpool and the Fantastic Four are now all part of Marvel Studios. After news broke out that Disney was looking to purchase Fox’s TV and movie assets, Marvel fans zeroed in on the possibility of the long-separated characters like the mutants finally joining the Avengers in the MCU. After several months of a rigorous process, the historic sale was finally done early this year, which means that it’s only a matter of time before the X-Men and their tie-in characters are eventually involved in Kevin Feige’s interconnected universe.

No specific plan has been announced regarding Marvel Studios’ newly-acquired characters. That’s even after Feige took the stage at San Diego Comic-Con Hall H to lay out their Phase 4 plans. He did briefly tease their imminent arrival, but as to when and how, nothing has been set as of yet. Despite that, Iger maintains that the X-Men, Deadpool and the Fantastic Four are now officially handled by Marvel Studios, and it’s only a matter of time before they make their first appearance in the MCU.

During Disney’s quarterly earnings call, Iger discussed Fox properties’ place under the Disney umbrella, starting with the Marvel characters which are now part of Marvel Studios as shared by Adam B. Vary on his official Twitter page. The CEO, however, didn’t talk about any specific plans for these high-profile IPs, including how they’re going to be incorporated in the ever-growing MCU. Check out his tweet below:

Looking at Marvel Studios’ Phase 4 slate, there doesn’t seem to be any room for a proper introduction for any of the said characters. That doesn’t mean that they can’t reshuffle said schedule to fit any of these IPs. Feige and his team know that there’s high anticipation for what they are planning for the mutants, Fantastic Four and Deadpool. While the first two are most likely going to be rebooted, the third one will be absorbed one way or another - posing questions about the creative freedom Ryan Reynolds has on it. In any case, considering that Phase 5 of the universe has also been mapped out already as well, fans can hear potential plans for these IPs in a week or two during D23.

While Iger confirmed that the X-Men, Fantastic Four and Deadpool are already part of Marvel Studios, he didn’t necessarily confirm that they are going to be in the MCU. There’s a possibility that Marvel Studios launch a different brand to cater to these characters, particularly Deadpool considering its significantly different tone (although director David Leitch says that future films might not be R-rated). All that being said, since Feige is a stickler for interconnected storytelling, that might also not be the case. It’s just that, it’s a different route they can tread if ever they want to switch things up in their releases.

More: X-Men: Dark Phoenix Directly Led to Disney’s Large Third Quarter Loss

Source: Adam B. Vary

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