The deal is done, and it seems the mouse has taken over the fox. At long last, Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox has come through, leaving the entertainment industry in a state of flux. With Disney a bigger powerhouse than ever, details are beginning to trickle out about what’s next for the studio, but it does not seem there are immediate plans out for the X-Men.

According to a new piece by The Hollywood Reporter, it appears the team at Disney — and Marvel Studios by proxy — aren’t ready to embrace Professor Xavier’s gifted youngsters quite yet.

“Unless Kevin Feige has a completed script waiting in his desk drawer, the newly arriving heroes from the Disney-Fox merger are unlikely to hit screens until at least 2021, if not later,” THR writes.

For those wanting to know why the report takes such a hard stance, it all comes down to timing. Disney’s big acquisition has given the studio a slew of big-name properties, but fans are paying close attention to Deadpool, the Fantastic Four, and the X-Men. In the past, multiple reports have stressed Ryan Reynold’s Deadpool is likely the only Fox-made iteration to jump on board with Disney as is. However, the story for the latter two franchises is a bit different.

Not only did Disney inherit dozens of properties, but it took on two yet-released X-Men movies. Dark Phoenix is slated to debut June 7 while New Mutants is aiming for a tentative August 2 premiere despite troubled reports. Disney is about to have its hands full sorting out this existing projects, and that doesn’t account for lingering producer deals.

“The X-Men films date back to 2000's X-Men, and there are producer deals that will need to be looked at and either untangled or bought out, say sources. Lauren Shuler Donner, who championed the 2000 film and has been a producer on all Fox's mutant-centric movies, is said to have a deal that calls for her to receive an executive producer credit on any X-Men movie whether or not she is actively involved. [Simon] Kinberg may have a similar deal,” THR reports.

With so much instability rocking Fox’s former IPs, it is difficult to tell when Marvel Studios could being actively pursuing projects for the X-Men. With the MCU a blank slate following Spider-Man: Far From Home, anything is possible for the world-famous franchise. If Disney could whip up a rebranding of the X-Men or Fantastic Four by 2021, then fans would be happier for it... but netizens should hold their breath over any film announcements right now.

So, can you deal with waiting a bit longer for, say, a Wolverine x Hawkeye team up? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!

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