X-Men and The Fantastic Four won’t share the same cinematic universe

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

If you're one of those people who are still hopeful a crossover movie involving the X-Men and Fantastic Four will happen, I have some bad news for you: at this point the two teams don't even exist in the same cinematic universe.

In an interview with ScreenCrush, X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST and THE FANTASTIC FOUR scribe Simon Kinberg says the superhero teams live in "discreet universes."

Simon Kinberg: Well, it’s complicated. Because none of the X-Men movies have acknowledged the notion of a sort of superhero team — the Fantastic Four. And the Fantastic Four acquire powers, so for them to live in a world where mutants are prevalent is kind of complicated, because you’re like, “Oh, you’re just a mutant.” Like, “What’s so fantastic about you?”

ScreenCrush: “We have powers … just like that team down the street.”

Kinberg: Right, right. Exactly, “So, I guess we’ll go to school now. We’ll go to Xavier’s school.” No, it is, they live in discrete universes.

This doesn't mean the X-Men and Fantastic Four will never be in a movie together, however right now it doesn't sound like it's going to happen anytime soon. Simon Kinberg also couldn't reveal much on THE FANTASTIC FOUR, but he did talk about how rebooting FANTASTIC FOUR is different compared to Marc Webb's Spidey reboot.

I guess I’ll say this: People have a very different relationship to the Fantastic Four movies than they had to Raimi’s Spider-Man movies. And Raimi’s Spider-Man movies — and that first Spider-Man movie — is a beloved movie that sort of redefined, tonally, sort of what comic book movies could do. There had been other superhero movies, like ‘X-Men,’ but Raimi’s Spider-Man had a joyfulness to it that was unique, I think, to the genre. So, rebooting a movie that was beloved less than ten years after it had come out is challenging. So, we approach ‘Fantastic Four’ with a different set of challenges.

Although most do have a "very different relationship" to the original FANTASTIC FOUR movies, many are also not pleased with some of the things going on with the reboot. I'm taking a "wait and see" approach with the reboot, but I can understand why many of you just don't care about Josh Trank's new movie, or believe it's going to be a giant mess. Would a solid trailer change your opinion on THE FANTASTIC FOUR, or do you think there's no chance it'll be a decent movie?

X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST will be released on May 23rd, 2014, and THE FANTASTIC FOUR is scheduled to open on June 19th, 2015.