owned by Marvel within the next six months.

Disney has already confirmed that both franchises will become part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. That means the MCU could expand at quite a substantial rate, with a whole host of new concepts added into the mix - ranging from the concept of mutants to brand new alien races like the Shi'ar, from cosmic beings like Galactus to dimensions like the Negative Zone. But how will Marvel choose to integrate all these ideas into their shared cinematic universe without damaging its continuity?

Related: The MCU X-Men May Be Better Starting Off On TV

In an interview with MTV News (h/t Newsarama), Kevin Feige has suggested the solution lies with focusing in on less well-known characters and concepts. As he explained:

"It's not just the marquee names, you know. There are hundreds of names on those documents, on those agreements. The fact that Marvel is now as close as we may ever be to having access to all of the characters is something I've been dreaming about for my almost 20 years at Marvel. It's very exciting."

New X-Men

This comment may well imply Marvel plan to develop some of the lesser-known X-Men and Fantastic Four concepts first, and that approach would indeed make perfect sense. It's worth ing that Marvel Studios has been reluctant to retell stories (and in some cases, even to reuse characters) that have already been featured on the big screen. That's why Marvel avoided origin stories for the Hulk and Spider-Man, for example, and why iconic Spider-Man villains like Doctor Octopus and the The Gifted demonstrates that even lesser-known X-Men concepts have a lot of potential.

Marvel has a history of making unusual and unexpected choices when it comes to their adaptations. When James Gunn's The Eternals, inspired by a little-known Jack Kirby concept. Given all this is the case, it really shouldn't be a surprise that Feige is drawing attention to the non-"marquee name" characters.

This raises the possibility that Marvel won't initially focus on bringing characters like Wolverine, Cyclops, and Professor X into the MCU. Perhaps instead, their focus will be on some of the more esoteric concepts and characters, using them to introduce the idea of genetic mutation and then gradually building up towards the X-Men themselves.

More: How To Introduce Mutants To The MCU (Without Breaking The Continuity)

Source: MTV News