Marvel fandom can’t be blamed for wanting the rights to Fantastic Four and X-Men back in the creator’s hands, and Stan Lee has some thoughts on the characters he helped create.
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Alongside creators like Jack Kirby and Len Wein, Lee helped to create some of the most popular characters in the Marvel stable. Two teams in particular though are currently in the hands of another studio. The X-Men and Fantastic Four are both currently at 20th Century Fox, but Lee revealed at Wizard World Nashville what he sees coming down the pike for any properties outside of Marvel Studios preview.
“Sooner or later, they’re going to get the rights back to all our characters,” Lee said. “They’re working on it, and they’re still making X-Men movies and stuff. Don’t worry about it. You’ll get more Marvel superheroes than you’ll have time to look at in the next few years.”
Those two properties aren’t the only ones housed at other studios, as Spider-Man is still located at Sony. The big difference, of course, is that Sony has an agreement with Marvel Studios to share the character, which allowed Tom Holland’s Spidey to appear in Captain America: Civil War. It also allows Marvel input and a certain amount of control over his movies in Sony’s universe, which fans could certainly see in Spider-Man: Homecoming.
The Fantastic Four return seems inevitable at this point, thanks to two failed franchise launches in a matter of a few years. The 2015 relaunch of Fantastic Four did not go over so well with critics or fans, netting a paltry $56 million domestically and a worldwide total of over $167 million. The previous launch was received more warmly, though the sequel pretty much sunk that ship.
Still, 20th Century Fox isn’t giving up on it just yet, with two Fantastic Four projects rumored to be in development. The Doctor Doom solo film is interesting, as is the rumored kid-friendly Fantastic Four reboot based on Mark Millar’s Kindergarten Heroes.
The X-Men franchise is something of a longer play, as that series still generates worthwhile income for Fox, and between Deadpool and Logan‘s positive reception, Fox isn’t letting that gravy train go anytime soon.
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