Marvel artist Andy Park wasn't aware of the industry-shifting Disney-Fox deal beforehand, and he says people shouldn't expect the X-Men to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe anytime soon. In December 2017, The Walt Disney Company made a bid to acquire 21st Century Fox's movie and TV assets for $52.4 billion. That deal includes 20th Century Fox, which in turn means the X-Men and Fantastic Four rights return to Marvel Studios if the deal is eventually approved by federal regulators.

At the moment, the deal has up to 18 months to go through. Until that happens, it's business as usual at 20th Century Fox. The studio is currently in the midst of production on multiple X-Men-based films - David Leitch's Deadpool 2, Simon Kinberg's X-Men: Dark Phoenix, and Josh Boone's New Mutants - and they have even more mutant-related projects in various stages of development, including a Multiple Man adaptation with James Franco as well as a Kitty Pryde spinoff. MCU and many Marvel Comics fans are undoubtedly awaiting the day Marvel's resident mutants step foot into the acclaimed shared universe, but that's something that won't happen for quite some time, seeing as various details need to be ironed out first. And the fact is, not many people actually know what's going on.

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In an interview with ComicBook, Marvel Studios Visual Design Supervisor Andy Park, who's worked on films such as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Thor: Ragnarok, admitted that he and his co-workers aren't aware of what's happening behind the scenes regarding the X-Men joining the MCU.

"...That's probably as much as I can say, 'cause there's nothing really to say yet. At least beyond, 'Wow.' That whole Disney buying Fox deal is - none of us saw that coming, and we're amazed and excited, because we always dreamed of having the X-Men and Fantastic Four in the MCU, but nothing's actually been decided or announced. So, I have nothing to spill, 'cause I don't even know what the future is. The only thing I've read… these thing are going to take at least 12 months to 18 months for something to even happen."

The fact that Park and his co-workers weren't aware of the deal beforehand isn't too surprising. If anyone at Marvel Studios knew about the deal prior to Disney's bid, it would be studio president Kevin Feige and the rest of the upper echelon. But what Park does know is that the X-Men aren't going to be joining the MCU in the near future.

"If people are expecting to see them in one of our near upcoming films like they might be disappointed. I don't know. I would love to see them, too, but I have no idea when they're actually going to come out, but I'm excited for the future. I can't wait to find out."

Until the deal is finalized, people shouldn't expect to hear any official details regarding the X-Men (or Fantastic Four, for that matter) entering the MCU. And if the deal is blocked by regulators, for some reason, not only will the X-Men not be joining the Avengers on the big screen, but the Mouse House will also be the hook for a $2.5 billion breakup fee, which they will owe to 21st Century Fox. It's also possible that Disney could go after the rights separately, though.

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Source: ComicBook

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