I never thought that I would say these words, but I think we're getting too many superhero TV shows now, as FOX confirmed today that it has an "X-Men" TV show in development.
FOX Entertainment co-chair Gary Newman said (via TV Insider) that negotiations are happening in regard to an "X-Men" TV series. Online speculation says that this new series would center on "X-Factor," an "X-Men" spinoff comic series, which would make sense as new characters and storylines could be developed with occasional cameos and guest-star slots for the original X-Men.
But there is a catch, of course: 20th Century Fox owns the film rights to the X-Men characters; the comic itself is owned by Marvel obviously, which is owned by rival Disney. A live-action TV series would require Marvel's approval...and that's going to be the tricky part as the two studios have been at loggerheads over IP ownership and rights for some time.
"It's in negotiations," Newman said. "We're cautiously optimistic, we had a good meeting with them. That will not be on a fast track creatively. This is just the deal, now we have to find the creative." Regardless, Newman doesn't think a show would be ready before the 2016-2017 TV season.
The rumors of a potential "X-Men" TV series have been in the wind for some time. Simon Kinberg, who penned "X-Men: Days of Future Past," told Collider last April that he thought an "X-Men" TV franchise was almost to be expected: "We're still in this place of figuring out what the future of the franchise will be, but when you look at 'S.H.I.E.L.D.' to some extent and what Marvel is doing now with 'Daredevil' and other shows on Netflix, it makes sense to tell some of these stories in TV."
