When Disney acquired 20th Century Fox as part of a merger first announced in 2017 and later completed in 2019, the biggest winner may well have been Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige.
He gained the rights to the X-Men and Fantastic Four franchises, meaning only Spider-Man remained off-limits (and he'd already negotiated a deal with Sony Pictures to share the web-slinger).
The first of those Fox franchises to join the MCU will be the Merc with the Mouth's in the upcoming Deadpool & Wolverine.
Talking to Variety about that, Feige said, "It felt almost like destiny. I’ve been at Marvel for over 20 years now. All those Fox characters were ones I’d never dreamed of having back purely under the fold of Marvel Studios."
"So when that happened, it was a giant surprise and a huge opportunity. The Fantastic Four and X-Men alone make a colossal portion of our comic universe that we now have access to for films and shows."
As for how much freedom he allowed Shawn Levy and Ryan Reynolds when it came to bringing mutants into the MCU, the executive added, "Almost everything was on the table. From Ryan’s point of view, this movie was all about No. 1, Deadpool and Wolverine together for the first time, and No. 2, the exploration of Deadpool and his cast of characters when they have access to this entire other timeline of the Marvel Cinematic Universe."
Asked about his plans for the X-Men, Feige remained frustratingly coy, but confirmed we've already seen Marvel Studios lay the groundwork for their eventual debut. "I wouldn’t say when but we’ve already hinted over the past few years at certain people possessing what will one day be known as the mutant gene," he stated. "We’ll be very excited when we tap into it."
Deadpool & Wolverine will beat the eventual X-Men reboot to the punch by introducing Logan's comic-accurate yellow and blue costume. However, knowing he had access to the original big screen Wolverine made its inclusion a no-brainer for Feige.
"Hugh Jackman having never appeared in the character’s most iconic suit is like being Superman in 10 movies and never wearing the Superman costume," he says. "It’s a testament to Wolverine that it didn’t necessarily matter; the character is more than the costume.”
"When I realized Hugh was in, I went from studio mode to 'You know you gotta get in the yellow outfit, right?'"
Deadpool & Wolverine arrives in theaters on July 26.