Disney and Fox Deal Reportedly Could Close by End of 2018

The Walt Disney Company's purchase of 21st Century Fox is set to change the game of entertainment, and it sounds like there's a chance it could happen a bit sooner.

A new report from Deadline, which covers "New Fox's" promotion of five different executives, briefly discusses the Disney/Fox deal. As it explains, "while some insiders have indicated a deal close is possible by the end of 2018, the official forecast is for early 2019."

This does come as a bit of a surprise, even with the fact that the Disney/Fox deal has been a genuine possibility since last December and the notion that the entire process could take 12 to 18 months total. Quite a few regulatory hurdles have come up so far this year, but this seems to signify that things are going pretty well.

Of course, the pop culture ramifications of the Disney/Fox deal will be pretty massive, but its role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe hasn't been far from some fans' minds. While the deal wrapping up earlier definitely won't have any bearing on next year's Avengers 4, it sounds like it will eventually lead the way for the X-Men, Fantastic Four, and more to join the MCU.

"Not until we're given the word," Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige explained earlier this year of plans with the Fox characters. "I have vague dreams and vague ideas. But right now, bringing to life the 10,000-plus characters that Marvel fully controls is what the gameplan is."

"That whole Disney buying Fox deal is- none of us saw that coming, and we're amazed and excited, because we always dreamed of having the X-Men and Fantastic Four in the MCU, but nothing's actually been decided or announced," Marvel Studios Visual Design Supervisor Andy Park told ComicBook.com. "So, I have nothing to spill, 'cause I don't even know what the future is. The only thing I've read … these thing are going to take at least 12 months to 18 months for something to even happen."

But when the two slates of Marvel characters do combine together, it sounds like Feige will definitely be the one in charge of it all.

"I think it only makes sense," Disney president Bob Iger said in a recent interview. "I want to be careful here because of what's been communicated to the Fox folks, but I think they know. It only makes sense for Marvel to be supervised by one entity. There shouldn't be two Marvels."

What do you think of the latest development in the Disney/Fox deal? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Avengers: Infinity War is now available on digital platforms, DVD, and Blu-ray. Ant-Man and the Wasp is available on digital now. Other upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movies include Captain Marvel on March 8, 2019; the fourth Avengers movie on May 3, 2019; and Spider-Man: Far From Home on July 5, 2019.