One of the perceived benefits of Disney’s acquisition of Fox was to finally see the X-Men alongside the Avengers and other heroes in the MCU. There’s a great deal of money to be earned from that in the future, for sure, but for right now the X-Men are little more than a burden. Fox still had two more movies to release, the box office dud Dark Phoenix, and the long-delayed, much-maligned New Mutants. Now, Disney is faced with what to do with a movie that is probably going to be a big money loser for them.
Variety reports that Disney is having second thoughts about the plan to release New Mutants next year. This comes after Dark Phoenix earned just $252M worldwide, the lowest of the entire franchise. Disney execs are “unimpressed” by the superhero horror and may not want to throw more money at the problem in an effort to fix it. It wouldn’t be at all shocking if those rumors of it landing on Hulu become a reality.
On the other end of the spectrum is a good problem to have, because fans LOVE the Deadpool movies and star Ryan Reynolds. However, Disney is unsure how to move forward with the famously R-rated antihero so he can crossover with the PG-13 Avengers. They gave it a shot with the PG-13 Once Upon a Deadpool which did okay but didn’t make fans want a toned-down version of the character.
In Marvel’s huge slate of upcoming films, there was no mention of Deadpool 3, or a Deadpool reboot, whatever it may be. Of course, it will happen at some point but it may take longer than fans were hoping.
