We’re on the verge of a year of huge change for the entertainment landscape as a result of the historic Disney/Fox deal, which is apparently now in its final stages.

Kevin Mayer has been involved in this wildly ambitious transaction right from the start, and in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the dealmaker explained that they’re almost at the finish line now, saying:

“The deal closing keeps me up at night, but it is almost done and closed,” Mayer said. “I’m eager to execute. I’m eager to get these services out in the public’s hands. That is an excitement more than it is a nervousness.”

While the merger is expected to be finalized at the start of 2019, that doesn’t mean we should expect to see the shift in ownership’s various effects to materialize all at once. However, once all the loose ends are tied up, you can bet that things will be set into motion and that means Marvel Studios will be allowed to begin working with the various Fox characters that’ve been off-limits to them for years – including the X-Men, Fantastic Four and more.

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In fact, when asked if they’ve already begun developing stories and films for these properties and ways to integrate them into the MCU, Kevin Feige said that they haven’t been given the go-ahead just yet, but he believes that it’s only a matter of time now before that happens.

“No but we’ve been told it’s looking very, very good and could happen in the first six months of next year,” said the producer.

In the past, Feige has been characteristically tight-lipped on what his plans are for the likes of Deadpool, the Fantastic Four and the X-Men, and though no one’s expecting to see Wolverine and the gang pop up in Avengers: Endgame, don’t be too surprised if one or two projects relating to the aforementioned properties get announced in Q3 of 2019.

Then again, after Disney has worked so hard to gobble up Fox, they may not want to rush into any major changes, but it’s clear either way that we’re in for a wild ride once that deal finally goes through in 2019.