AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR Director Talks About Worthy Stories For Wolverine And The Fantastic Four

Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers 4 are serving as the final chapters in the current MCU book. After next May, the MCU will enter into a new era, almost certainly heightened by the return the X-Men and Fantastic Four characters as a result of the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney. 

When asked by Josh Horowitz of the Happy Sad Confused podcast about how Marvel Studios could pull off introducing Wolverine after what James Mangold did with Hugh Jackman in the critically-acclaimed Logan, Joe Russo had the following to say:

I think there’s always new stories to tell. Maybe it’s ten years before the next Wolverine story, who knows — someone’s gonna come attack me now for saying that — there’s always a path forward if there’s a story worth telling.

Russo pointed to how Spider-Man has been reinvented in the MCU after the two Amazing Spider-Man films as an example of how there is a new approach, a new story to tell with a character that has previously appeared in movies. Russo also noted though that there are thousands of Marvel characters, besides those that have appeared in movies from other studios, that have a huge potential.

I think another thing we appreciate about Marvel is they’re very good at making sure there’s a story to tell before committing to it. And frankly, there’s a lot of IP that can be mined. There’s thousands of Marvel characters, and maybe there’s a new direction to go in.

It comes as no surprise that Kevin Feige is already setting his sights on untapped IPs such as Nova and The Eternals. However, there is one property in particular that fans have been hoping is finally adapted under the Marvel Studios banner: the Fantastic Four. And while there have been several failed attempts at creating quality Fantastic Four films, Russo notes that the property needs the right story for a film:

I think we all agree that the Fantastic Four need the correct story told. [They’re] characters who were important to me, Ben Grimm was one of my favorites. And I think there’s a version of that film and that world that still needs to be told.

Be sure to share your thoughts on all of this below, and let us know how long you think it'll be before we see The X-Men and FF in the MCU after Avengers 4.