Last January, Fox revealed its plans to put the X-Men back on television with a new live-action series created by 24 producers Evan Katz and Manny Coto in conjunction with screenwriters Patrick McKay and JD Payne. Today at the Television Critics Association Press Tour, Fox’s CEO Dana Walden expressed optimism that an official announcement is forthcoming.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Walden said “[For] X-Men, we’re in negotiations with Marvel. We’re hopeful we’ll be able to announce something soon. We’re not closed on a deal yet but it’s something we’re definitely pursuing. The characters from the X-Men franchise are with Fox on the feature side so we won’t be including Marvel characters that are at ABC with Disney. This will be exclusively the franchise as it has existed at Fox.”
Related: 12 Mutants Who Got Screwed Over By The X-Men Movies
The fly in Fox’s ointment is that Marvel would have to sign off on any live-action X-Men TV series, as Fox’s deal only covers the movie rights. And there are no indications that Marvel is looking to play nice with the only movie studio not cooperating with its shared Cinematic Universe.
Rumors of tension between Fox and Marvel have been rampant for months, and it’s impossible to miss the fact that Marvel has gone out of its way to avoid promoting Fantastic Four…to the point of actually canceling the long-running comic book series and splitting up the characters to different comics in Marvel’s upcoming relaunch.
Under the terms of Fox’s deal with Marvel, the X-Men film rights will never revert unless Fox stops making X-Men movies. With Deadpool, X-Men: Apocalypse, Gambit, a third Wolverine film on the way, that won’t be happening any time soon.
Marvel fans, do you want to see Fox’s take on a X-Men live-action series? Enter the Danger Room, and share your opinions in the comment section below!
