It was previously stated that Fox and Marvel had been at odds over the Marvel-licensed characters which includes the X-Men and Fantastic Four.
Reportedly it got so heated that eccentric Marvel CEO Ike Perlmutter ordered the cancellation of the various comic books and movie-related merchandise. The cast of the Fantastic Four movie was even blown up and killed in the comic books.
The good news is that behavior seems to be a thing of the past as recent announcements see Fox pairing with Marvel for two new TV series with Legion and Hellfire Club. X-Men’s Bryan Singer, Simon Kinberg and long-time producer Lauren Shuler Donner are working on the series with Marvel TV’s Jeph Loeb and Jim Chory.
In addition, weeks prior to this news of a Fox/Marvel team-up, a rumor surfaced that Marvel and Fox were “making up” and planning on an Avengers/X-Men movie in 2020. Interestingly enough, Marvel recently announced three new untitled movies all of which are to be released in 2020.
A new rumor is even stating that Fox exchanged the movie rights to Fantastic Four, Silver Surfer, Galactus and Doctor Doom for Marvel’s blessings on the two X-Men TV series. It’s said Fantastic Four is one of Marvel’s new 2020 movies.
So it sounds as if things with Marvel and Fox are all fine and dandy.
Then there is Stan Lee.
Stan Lee will be making a cameo in Singer’s X-Men: Apocalypse, which marks the first time in ten years Lee will be appearing in an X-Men movie. Is it possible Stan Lee is being used to bridge the X-Men and Marvel movies in X-Men: Apocalypse with Tom Holland’s Peter Parker and Spider-Man?
It’s being speculated Singer is rebooting the X-Men franchise with younger actors, and we are also getting a new Wolverine. With the news of the new Fox/Marvel relationship and potential crossover movie(s), is Marvel welcoming back the FF and X-Men similar to Spider-Man? Following the recent disappointment of Amazing Spider-Man 2, Marvel and Sony recently came to a mutual deal that sees Marvel overseeing Spider-Man creatively while Sony can keep making solo movies with various characters able to crossover into the studios’ films. In similar fashion, following the poorly received Fantastic Four (and The Wolverine and X-Men: Days Of Future Past, depending on whom you ask), have Fox and Marvel come to a similar arrangement?
Regarding Stan Lee’s X-Men: Apocalypse cameo, the Marvel creator told Larry King: “That cameo is different than any I have ever done before because I did it with another person who is very important to me. I can’t tell you more than that. No, you’ve go to see it.”
That’s a rather enigmatic response from Stan Lee; just who is the very important individual he is talking about? Of course it could always be a family member, but aside from his personal life, who is Stan Lee more known to be associated with other than Spider-Man?
Stan Lee further teased the X-Men: Apocalypse cameo as something big: “The whole world is now saying, because everybody watches your show, they’re all saying ‘who could possibly be that important to Stan?’ This is going to become the biggest talking point throughout the whole country.”
Honestly, I’ll admit Stan Lee bridging the Marvel and X-Men universes with Spider-Man is pure speculation on my part, but the evidence seems to be out there that the Fox X-Men properties may be connecting with Marvel. If my hunch is correct, look for Stan Lee to partner with Tom Holland for an appearance in X-Men: Apocalypse on May 26th, 2016, which follows Holland’s debut in Captain America: Civil War a couple of weeks prior on May 6th. It’s possible Stan Lee will be the glue that binds the Fox X-Men universe to the Marvel Studios Avengers universe.
Excelsior!
