20th Century Fox has big plans for the X-Men and Fantastic Four film franchises and it appears the studio has found the man to help execute them. Writer and producer Simon Kinberg, one of the head writers of the upcoming X-Men: Days of Future Past film, has reportedly signed a three-year deal with Fox that will give him the opportunity to expand Fox’s two Marvel properties into their own cinematic universes.
This week’s news announcing plans to release X-Men: Apocalypse, the sequel to Days of Future Past, in theaters on May 27, 2016 suggested that Fox had lofty ambitions for movies starring Marvel’s popular mutants. In addition, Kinberg had already been attached to the reboot of the Fantastic Four film franchise, which is also under Fox’s legal control. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Kinsberg’s new terms with Fox will allow him to create expansive universes for both the X-Men and the first family of comics, in a manner akin to the Marvel’s Avengers-led cinematic universe. Kinsberg commented on this development and the potential it brings, saying,
I have a lot of ideas on how to built those brands and do what everybody is thinking of these days: Be like Marvel…I want to be able to build stories over multiple movies.
Personally, I am conflicted about this news. On one hand, Kinberg was a major player in the writing of Days of Future Past and I have already documented my excitement about that movie. I have been a huge X-Men fan for as long as I can remember and I would love nothing more than for it and X-Men Apocalypse to keep the streak of good X-Men films going. On the other hand, I recognize that Marvel Studios is the industry leader when it comes to superhero movies. As good as the upcoming X-Men films (and maybe even the Fantastic Four reboot) may be, I am almost certain they would be better if they were produced by the masterful crew at Marvel proper. This news just makes the chances of Fox selling the rights back to Marvel Studios even slimmer.
What are your thoughts about a 20th Century Fox Marvel cinematic universe? Is Kinberg the next Whedon or is Fox getting ahead of itself? Let us know down below!
