Jeph Loeb comments on the impending return of the X-Men to Marvel after Disney's ongoing acquisition of Fox's TV and movie assets gets finalized. Announced December 2017, the deal has gone through several hurdles in the last few months, but with China granting its approval with no conditions, the legal process is expected to be finished before June 2019.
Becoming the Executive Vice President of Marvel Television in 2010, Loeb spearheaded a slew of small screen projects for the comic book brand. He's executive produced ABC's Legion, Loeb was asked about his sentiments on the future of the mutants once Disney and Fox's deal is finalized.
Related: A Complete Timeline Of The Disney-Fox Deal
Speaking with Comic Book at the Television Critics Association winter tour, the Marvel TV head honcho shares his thoughts on the X-Men officially ing the MCU. While he didn't divulge any information about their specific plans to bring some of those characters on the small screen, he its that he, like most people, is very excited about the storytelling possibilities that this presents.
"I have to wait for them to be resolved and I'm not trying ... You know me well enough to know that I usually go that's classified or any. We are literally waiting for two multi-billion dollar corporations to figure out how they're going to merge. And when that happens then they'll be a decision made as to where these characters land and what happens with them and that kind of thing."
"But, for right now it's a very exciting time because it's happening. Like you know the thought that the X-Men and the Fantastic Four are coming home, in whatever format that turns out to be, is extraordinary you know. And I can't wait to see what the movie division does. I can't wait to see what we do. I can't wait to see what the gaming division. Like it's always been out there somewhere close by. But, you know now it's all gonna be under one roof. And so it's just from a fan's point of view, it's extraordinary."
While Loeb isn't teasing anything in particular with regard to Marvel TV's plans for new characters that they can use in various projects, it's safe to assume that they have been tinkering on some narrative possibilities that they can come up with. Having lost most of their Netflix projects with the end of Legion, Marvel TV needs to come up with brand new projects to thrive moving forward. Additionally, while ABC is supposedly their mother platform, there was no new show that debuted last year and it's uncertain if there will be a new one coming this year either.
Having said that, considering that Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios will be starting to dabble with small screen projects with shows centering on MCU characters such as Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch and Paul Bettany's Vision, it's curious how Marvel TV's productions will fit in the franchise's overall narrative. While shows like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. are supposedly tied to the film series, their big screen counterparts very rarely acknowledge their existence. The new Disney Plus Marvel shows could render the franchise's Marvel TV projects much more insignificant.
More: Every Marvel Movie & TV Show Coming In 2019
Source: Comic Book
