Why Fox's X-Men Universe Keeps Growing

Production of X-Men films aren't slowing down over at Fox, despite the Disney purchase. It was recently revealed that Tim Miller is working on a Kitty Pryde solo outing for the studio. The Deadpool director is currently developing a movie based on the phasing mutant, with the option to direct should it come to pass. Now, this isn't necessarily something to immediately get excited about - projects like this move in and out of development all the time - but it does indicate that very little is changing for the foreseeable future with regards to the X-Men franchise over on the Fox lot.There's over a dozen X-Men movies still in development, ranging from main series extensions to out-there spinoffs, with constant movement suggesting things are continuing business as usual. How can this happen when one of the biggest deals in film history is taking place? Well, it's a bit more complicated you think.The Disney Deal Isn't Finished Yet (This Page)

The Disney Deal Isn't Finished Yet (And Fox Are Onto A Winner)

Like any deal of this magnitude, ironing out the finer details will take time (it still needs to pass congress). There's a lot of spinning plates and different angles to think about and square off before anyone comes in and reboots or cans or makes any bold decisions for any properties. For most franchises, any changes will come over the course of years, rather than months, including Fox's X-Men films. The slate of actually active movies may be relatively short, but among them are an ever-widening ensemble of characters and actors with multi-picture deals to play them, not to mention talented directors like Miller eager to nail something down to work on. A lot of not insignificant people are tied to the X-franchise, several of whom were instrumental in the studio finally starting to make X-movies people really loved.

It's hard to understate how much 2016's Deadpool and last year's Logan did for not only the idea of R-rated comic book movies, but for Fox's whole perspective on the X-Men. Until Deadpool only a couple of films released within the series really stood the test of time. Then two years on the trot came top-to-bottom blockbusters, each boasting a distinct narrative centered on one of Marvel comics' most beloved characters. Both did huge numbers financially and, more importantly, were very-well reviewed by fans and critics alike. Fox are so confident in Logan, they believe it deserves Oscar attention.

Fox stumbled on a formula for distinct pictures that'd stand-out against Marvel's constant schedule. And from that, we've got Josh Boone's New Mutants, a horror story featuring mutants locked in an asylum. There's an X-Force project that's been doing the rounds for years that's looking very plausible on the back Deadpool 2 featuring Cable and filming on Gambit is apparently set to start this Spring. And those are in addition to X-Men: Dark Phoenix, a second run at committing the legendary Dark Phoenix comic storyline to the big screen after the disastrous X-Men: The Last Stand. The latter probably won't revolutionize the genre as has been touted by Sophie Turner, but the Simon Kinberg-directed effort is likely to be at least better than X3. As far as X-Men and associated names and groups that Fox own therein, they're on a roll now that they'd be foolish to slow down or work against just on the basis of a somewhat unknown future. There's no precedent for what Disney might do here really and there's a lot of money and cool movies to be made in the meantime.

X-Men In The MCU May Not Look Like You're Expecting

None of this is bad news for the dream of having the mutants in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it just means it might take a while. Although, when it does happen, the X-Men meeting the Avengers probably won't come in the form we're expecting. The phases of films from Marvel Studios have been more-or-less linear culminating in certain big crossovers. Though the MCU is a box office juggernaut, one of the big selling points of Deadpool and Logan was how insular they are. It was, and is, refreshing to just sit down and enjoy a well-crafted story featuring a comic book hero in live-action without any baggage or theorizing. We get three box theatrical events a year from Marvel that are ripe to be picked apart in what they say about the previous and forthcoming entries these are just movies, and that's becoming a rare commodity.

It may be later rather than sooner we see X-Men featuring in the MCU, and that's a good thing. Marvel Studios isn't going anywhere and both are on a high because of the competition. Disney are unlikely to abandon Fox's current ethos either because, frankly, it sells. And it sells well, with good tracking in the months afterward on home media and in the wider cultural discourse. A crossover is inevitable, but getting there is a ways away because developing a tonal middle-ground that will take time, along with the requisite story-telling.

The X-Men aren't just going to hard reboot if things are proving so successful. It took them almost two decades, but Fox is finally putting the melting pot of a license they got in the X-Men to good use in creating a smorgasbord of series, using the world of the mutants as a unifying theme. Xavier's School for Gifted Children and the Avengers Initiative don't need to butt heads or shake hands just yet.

And really, this is only replicating how the X-Men work in comics anyway. There's a core team of rotating members surrounded by a whole diverse population of minor players that occupies different incarnations and solo books. Some characters are more popular than others but when the X-line is working well, there's multiple different arcs to follow, each offering different kinds of action and intrigue. They're their own corner of the Marvel universe unto themselves.

Disney would do well to capitalize on the proven successes Fox have already achieved and just keep the good stuff moving while canning the bad stuff, making the big blow-out crossovers a rare celebration. This helps the individual narratives breathe and lets actors, directors and writers sink their teeth into the characters, like Ryan Reynolds and Deadpool, while making films that aren't beholden to each other stylistically. The MCU is great and all, but its rigidity in style is not conducive to getting something quite like Logan, which is a weakness.

2018 is going to be an exciting year for Marvel-related comic book movies. Avengers: Infinity War and Black Panther are leading the charging for the MCU, Sony has that Venom film coming starring Tom Hardy and then there's New Mutants and Deadpool 2. Avengers and the X-Men and the Fantastic Four and Spider-Man all under one roof is still the dream, and one that becomes attainable each billion dollars more Marvel rakes in. But what's coming in the meantime isn't anything to shrug at, especially where Tim Miller's concerned.

Next: Disney Didn't Buy Fox for the X-Men