A few months back it was reported that 20th Century Fox was kicking around the idea of a live action "X-Men" television series. Now it appears as if Fox has moved from the brainstorming phase to the actually doing phase of development.
The Hollywood Reporter has learned that Fox is closing in on a deal to bring the "X-Men" universe to the small screen.
"[For] X-Men, we're in negotiations with Marvel. We're hopeful we'll be able to announce something soon. We're not closed on a deal yet but it's something we're definitely pursuing," Fox Television Group chairman and CEO Dana Walden said.
THR's report says that Fox hopes to announce something official soon, with Weldon explaining that the goal is do a "long-running" series with the franchise and not just a limited engagement similar to the upcoming "X-Files" and "Twin Peaks" revivals. "Star Trek Beyond" screenwriters Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne are currently attached to the potential series in addition to "24's" Evan Katz and Manny Coto, who will serve as showrunners if the series gets the green light.
Fox's big screen big brother 20th Century Fox owns the movie rights for Marvel's X-Men characters, but the TV studios must negotiate with Marvel to use them on the small screen. The TV rights to several prominent characters such as Wolverine and Deadpool exist in a bit of a gray area with Marvel, with both of them making appearances in Marvel's still-running animation series.
"The characters from the X-Men franchise are with Fox on the feature side so we won't be including Marvel characters that are at ABC with Disney," Walden explained. "This will be exclusively the franchise as it has existed at Fox."
The decision to firmly move forward with an "X-Men" TV series comes at a time when 20th Century Fox is struggling with their non-mutant properties. While "X-Men: Days of Future Past" set box office records within the franchise and "X-Men: Apocalypse" is shaping up as an impressive blockbuster affair, the early reviews for the studio's "Fantastic Four" reboot leave a lot to be desired. "Fantastic Four" is not expected to generate enough box office revenue to merit a continuation of the story, putting more pressure on Fox to make a profit with their Marvel properties anyway they can.
Do you want to see an "X-Men" television show or are you suffering from superhero fatigue? Let us know in the comments section below!
