Despite the looming merger with Disney/Marvel Studios, 20th Century Fox is "going 100 miles per hour" with multiple "X-Men" movies and other Marvel-led projects in the coming year.

"We actually have way more in development and production in Marvel IP than at any point in the history of the studio," a Fox insider told The Hollywood Reporter. "There's been zero slowdown on that front given Disney."

THR said Fox has several films in development to further develop the "X-Men" and "Fantastic Four" brands. A Silver Surfer standalone movie is being written by comic book and TV writer Brian K. Vaughan. (Hey, remember the 2007 movie "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer." Apologies if you'd rather forget.) And a Doctor Doom movie is in the works from Noah Hawley ("Fargo," "Legion").

There are two "X-Men" movies coming out this year -- "Deadpool 2" and "X-Men: Dark Phoenix" -- with three more expected in 2019 and three more the following year.

Fox's "Deadpool" spinoff, "X-Force," is set to start filming in October, bringing back Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool and Josh Brolin as Cable. "New Mutants" is going back for more filming this summer for its February 2019 release. "Gambit" is still looking for a director but a new script draft is expected in March and the studio is still pushing it to move forward.

Many fans reacted to the reports with frustration. Why is Fox stepping on the gas instead of the brakes when it comes to adapting Marvel characters? Why not leave the characters alone until they can be blended into the Marvel Cinematic Universe after the Disney merger?


THR's report did share some hints as to why Fox is pushing all of this through now, instead of waiting for Disney. "They have to proceed as business as usual in case the merger doesn't go through," one agent whose clients work on Fox's Marvel movies told THR. "It's a unique position to be in." Stay tuned for what actually moves forward. Several fans suspect the Silver Surfer standalone won't ever make it to screen.

At least the "Deadpool" movies seem to be on the right track. The sequel opens in theaters May 18th, 2018 -- just a couple of weeks after the Disney MCU's "Avengers: Infinity War."

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