We don't know when or how it will happen, but thanks to the Disney-Fox merger, the X-Men will be coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

And while details are scarce (if not nonexistent), the move is bound to mean a shake-up for any existing plans for the existing X-Men universe – and it's looking as though Deadpool 2 sequel/spin-off X-Force might be one of the biggest victims.

Deadpool and X-Force creator Rob Liefeld has thrown doubt on the likelihood that the mutant team will graduate to their own movie as planned, calling the movie a "victim of the merger".

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Pour one out for ol’ X-Force. Victim of the merger. $800 million grosser easy. https://t.co/1ZCfYb9Ii5 — robliefeld (@robertliefeld) January 11, 2019

The original movie version X-Force made their short-lived debut in Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool 2, but by the end of the film a new version of the team featuring Zazie Beetz's Domino and Josh Brolin's Cable had apparently emerged.

2019 will see the release of X-Men: Dark Phoenix and The New Mutants, both of which were delayed from 2018 and are expected to be Fox's final X-Men movies before the merger.

20th Century Fox

While Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige has said the incorporation of the X-Men into the MCU is likely to happen very soon, the plans for how that will come about are, as we said, a mystery at this point. With Hugh Jackman's retirement as Wolverine, Reynolds' take on Wade Wilson is now certainly the most popular aspect of Fox's continuity, so we would understand if Marvel wants to keep him on board, perhaps with an X-Force movie or Deadpool 3.

On the other hand, Deadpool's irreverence might be hard to mesh with the tone of the MCU. We'll be waiting with bated breath to see whether Disney decides it can afford to let Reynolds go or not.

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