James Gunn Says No X-Men In 'Avengers: Infinity War'

One of the biggest negotiations in the world of entertainment recently is The Walt Disney [...]

One of the biggest negotiations in the world of entertainment recently is The Walt Disney Company's acquisition of some of 21st Century Fox's most popular characters, which include the Fantastic Four, Deadpool, and the X-Men. Fans couldn't help but hypothesize how quickly Marvel would integrate these characters into their films, but Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn confirmed that the X-Men won't be appearing in this May's Avengers: Infinity War.

"There is no merge yet between Disney and Fox, it does not exist yet. Hopefully, it will exist," Gunn shared in a Facebook Live Q&A. "Hopefully, they will work it out. But, it doesn't exist. You will not see X-Men or anyone else like that in Infinity Wars, Avengers 3 or Avengers 4, because those movies have been shot."

Talks of the deal between Disney and Fox began last year, with details only recently becoming more of a certainty. Disney CEO Bob Iger also confirmed that, if/when the deal goes through, the Marvel Cinematic Universe would embrace their new characters, settling the discussion about if the previously Fox-owned characters would exist in a different narrative from the current MCU.

With the MCU's history of incorporating post-credits scenes that tease at the franchise's future, some might think it would be as simple as shooting a brief scene to include in a film, but until the deal is 100% completed, this would be an impossibility. The deal could take as long as two years to go through, yet many expect it could be completed by mid-2019.

What this means for Disney and Fox is that everything will function as normal, with the two companies being separate entities, and Disney could potentially start production on an X-Men film once everything has gone through. Given the timelines of many of the MCU titles, a film lands in theaters roughly three years after it is announced, which would point towards 2022 as a realistic timeframe for an X-Men film from Disney.

Luckily, Marvel Studios could go the post-credits route without developing a feature film, which would place 2019's Spider-Man: Homecoming sequel or 2020's rumored Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 as an entry point for the Fox-owned characters.

Avengers: Infinity War hits theaters on May 4th.

Do you think the X-Men should debut in an Avengers film or wait a few years? Let us know in the comments below!

[H/T Facebook, James Gunn]

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