What X-Men's Movie Future Would Look Like If Disney Didn't Buy Fox

What would have become of the X-Men franchise if the Fox-Disney deal never happened? Back in early 2019, Disney’s acquisition of Fox’s movie and TV assets for a price of $71 billion gave the studio access to several big-name properties, two of which being the X-Men and the Fantastic Four. Due to this purchase, Disney now has Marvel’s Merry Mutants and Marvel’s First Family under the same roof as Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Doctor Strange, and more.

When the deal was completed, Fox still had two unreleased films in the X-Men franchise, Dark Phoenix and New Mutants, which meant that both films had to be released by Disney. Dark Phoenix bombed at the box office in the summer of 2019. After multiple delays, New Mutants finally hit theaters, bringing the X-Men franchise to a conclusion after 20 years. No more X-Men movies are on the horizon.

When audiences next see live-action versions of Wolverine, Storm, Jean Grey, Cyclops, and Beast – whenever that may be – they’ll be in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, sharing the same world as the Avengers, Spider-Man, and the Guardians of the Galaxy. Marvel hasn’t announced concrete plans for any of its mutant heroes and villains, and though it’s possible that there may be room for one or two X-Men characters to debut in Phase 4, it’s more likely that they’ll be saved for Phase 5 or later, with some possibly getting solo movies. Nevertheless, it’s worth wondering what the future of the franchise would have looked if Fox had kept them.

Dark Phoenix Could Be Released As Two Movies (& Doesn't Bomb)

Dark Phoenix’s release could have worked out quite differently if the Fox-Disney deal was never made. First of all, the movie would have received a much stronger push from Fox, who invested around $200 million in getting the film off the ground. What didn’t help its box office performance is the idea that this was the end for these characters. By the time the movie came out, fans were already moving on from Fox’s X-Men movies, as it was now apparent that the future for characters like Storm, Magneto, and Professor X belonged with Disney and not Fox.

Furthermore, Fox may have stuck with its original plan of making Dark Phoenix a two-part story. The Dark Phoenix Saga from Marvel Comics is a massive story that involves a lot of characters, and for this reason it would have had much more potential if these ideas weren’t limited to a two-hour movie. The scope of the story could have been greatly expanded, more characters could have received deeper arcs, and the villains could have been handled better if Dark Phoenix was released as two movies.

All things considered, Dark Phoenix may have turned in higher numbers at the box office. Despite the criticism surrounding X-Men: Apocalypse, even it was able to bring in $543 million, whereas Dark Phoenix made a dismal $252 million.

The New X-Men Trilogy Would Be Completed

When Dark Phoenix was in the early stages of development, there was some discussion over the possibility of the movie being the first installment in a third trilogy of X-Men movies. Regardless of whether or not Dark Phoenix was stretched out to two movies, it does seem probable that as long as the movie and its sequel met their box office expectations, another series of movies about James McAvoy’s Professor Xavier and his team of mutants would have been completed. By the time the trilogy ended, Fox surely would have had an even richer roster of X-Men characters to work with for future spinoffs. This would've allowed for a proper conclusion to many characters' story arcs, whereas their stories in Dark Phoenix were more like a next step.

New Mutants Reshoots Could've Made The Film Good (& A Sequel Might've Happened)

One of the warning signs that Fox was headed for disaster with New Mutants were all the reports about delays and reshoots. When Fox sold its assets, these long-planned reshoots fell through. New Mutants director Josh Boone has claimed that they would have happened if the deal never took place - if so, they may have allowed for a more solid film. Of course, it could be that no amount of reshoots could have saved it, but it’s difficult to say for sure. It’s at least possible that New Mutants could have been a hit, thus putting a sequel on the table - or even the planned trilogy, as Boone has frequently discussed in the past.

Deadpool 3 & X-Force Would Both Be Happening

Deadpool Kills Hitler in the Super Duper Cut

Based on the success of Deadpool and its sequel, it’s a no-brainer that Fox would have made Deadpool 3. Though a third installment was indeed part of Fox’s plans, what they wanted to do first was make an R-rated movie about Deadpool’s mutant team, X-Force. X-Force would then have been followed by a third solo adventure for Ryan Reynolds’ Merc with a Mouth. A PG-13 Deadpool 3 could still potentially happen at Disney, given the character's popularity, but audiences shouldn’t expect anything to happen with X-Force, unfortunately.

Other X-Men Movies That Might've Happened

Instead of only relying on X-Men and Wolverine, Fox wanted to branch out and create multiple Marvel franchises. With this new approach, Deadpool and New Mutants were just the beginning. Fox intended to give solo movies to Gambit, X-23, Kitty Pryde, and Multiple Man, in addition to new team movies for Exiles and Alpha Flight. There’s no telling when Fox would have gotten around to X-23, Kitty Pryde, Alpha Flight, and Exiles – or if any of them would actually have been produced – but Fox was finally making progress on Gambit, which had been talked about for years. Multiple Man was moving forward too, with James Franco attached to star and co-produce.

X-Men's Movie Future Is Better Off With Disney

Captain America Hawkeye Black Widow in The Avengers

Several movies have been scrapped as a result of Disney buying Fox, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. What Marvel has been able to accomplish with the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and more should give fans plenty of confidence in the MCU’s X-Men. Since 2008, Marvel has released hit after hit, without one of its movies being considered a disappointment at the box office. Several of its movies have brought in over $1 billion, with Avengers: Endgame becoming the highest-grossing movie of all time at $2.79 billion. Even lower-performing and arguably less exciting films like Ant-Man and the Wasp were still considered successes. Marvel’s formula for making superhero movies that are both extremely profitable and unique to each other provides hope that Cyclops, Wolverine, and all the others have a bright future ahead of them in the MCU.

Next: X-Men 2000 Was The First True Marvel Movie (But Its Legacy Is Spoiled)