The 20th Century Fox properties acquired by Disney in 2019’s merger, namely Fantastic Four, X-Men and Deadpool are “the future of Marvel,” according to notable Hollywood Insider Matt Beloni.
On Belloni’s recent podcast, The Best and Worst Media Mergers of the 21st Century, he said: “The future of Marvel seems to be in exploiting these Fox Marvel properties like Fantastic Four and X-Men and Deadpool. It gives Marvel a place to go on all of this.”
Earlier in the podcast, when asked about the most impactful media deal in recent decades, Belloni said that Disney’s $4 billion purchase of Marvel Entertainment in 2009 provided exceptional value and proved to be an enormously transformative move for the media giant.
So my candidate for the best media deal of the past 24 years, I think in terms of bang for the buck, I’m going to have to say Disney’s acquisition of Marvel in 2009 for $4 billion, it’s hard to express how transformational this was for Disney at the time,” Belloni said.
He added: “The film group was largely a Princess business. They were skewing young female. They needed to win boys back. They bought Marvel and then Marvel goes on one of the all time heater runs of new media business of all time.
In Belloni’s view, the Marvel deal allowed Disney to earn over $29.8 billion at the box office, provided valuable content to launch Disney+, brought in top executive Kevin Feige, and cemented Disney’s cinematic dominance for years to come.
Fantastic Four
Marvel Studios recently announced the cast for its Fantastic Four reboot, setting the stage for a new era of MCU adventures. Stepping into the roles of the beloved superhero team are Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm, and Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm.
The Fantastic Four characters were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, with the team making its first comic book appearance in 1961. The previous Fantastic Four movies, while popular, were not well-received by fans or critics, and Marvel Studios has an opportunity to right the wrongs of the past and deliver a feature that is true to the spirit of the comics.
Behind the scenes, The Fantastic Four will be brought to life under the direction of Matt Shakman, with Josh Friedman writing the screenplay. With production slated to begin in summer 2024, Marvel fans can look forward to the film’s journey to theaters in July 2025, marking a new chapter in the MCU.
Fantastic Four opens on July 25, 2025.
X-Men
According to entertainment reporter Jeff Sneider on the latest episode of the podcast The Hot Mic, writers Rafe Judkins and Michael Lesslie are among the top contenders to write the script for the X-Men’s introduction into the MCU. Sneider also stated that he believes Judkins and Lesslie are the two finalists vying for this high-profile writing assignment, though he noted that other writers could still be in consideration as well.
While the film doesn’t have a writer yet, some rumors have come out that paint a clear picture of what Marvel has in mind for its X-Men reboot. The team reportedly won’t feature Wolverine, likely giving the character a break following Hugh Jackman’s reprisal of the role in Deadpool and Wolverine. The studio also reportedly wants Dwayne Johnson to play Apocalypse in the project.
X-Men ’97 recently ended its first season on Disney Plus to critical and fan acclaim.
Deadpool
Shawn Levy directs Deadpool & Wolverine, which stars Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, Leslie Uggams, Karan Soni, and Matthew Macfadyen. Kevin Feige, Ryan Reynolds, Shawn Levy and Lauren Shuler Donner produce with Louis D’Esposito, Wendy Jacobson, Mary McLaglen, Josh McLaglen, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, George Dewey and Simon Kinberg serving as executive producers.
Deadpool & Wolverine is written by Ryan Reynolds & Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick & Zeb Wells & Shawn Levy.
Deadpool & Wolverine opens in theaters on July 26.
