10 Predictions For Fox's Upcoming Marvel Movies

X-Men fans should be reasonably pleased with the way 20th Century Fox is handling the Marvel property. Okay, so Apocalypse fell short of expectations, but the studio's vision has been bold and ambitious since First Class' soft reboot dispelled the bitter aftertaste The Last Stand left behind.

Not only has the firm upped the quality of its X-movies, it has taken creative risks along the way, having two generations of actor playing the same characters at once, and pioneering the R-rated superhero movie with the likes of Deadpool and Logan.

Just like every blockbuster franchise these days, X-Men has been expanded into a full cinematic universe and Fox plans to flesh it out with no fewer than six new movies between now and 2021, only some of which have been formally announced.

Although the X-universe is in decent shape, Fox's other Marvel interests haven't been quite as fruitful, with Fantastic Four in need of a re-reboot following Josh Trank's muddled and joyless origin story, but don't be surprised when it gets one in the near future, whatever form it may take.

Next year promises to be a big one for Fox and Marvel, with New Mutants, Deadpool 2 and X-Men: Dark Phoenix due to launch over the next 12 months and future plans for the FF universe likely to take shape...

Fox began pursuing an X-Force movie as far back as 2013, but it wasn't until Deadpool hit at the box office that the studio was able to kick the project into gear.

X-Force is a grittier, more militant version of the X-Men lead by Cable, who will make his big screen debut in Deadpool 2. Make no mistake, this hard-hitting mutant mash-up will earn its R-rating and then some.

With Josh Brolin playing the time-jumping Cable in the Deadpool sequel and Zazie Beetz cast as Domino, all of the moving parts needed to set up X-Force are in place.

Don't expect Deadpool 2 be crushed under the weight of its own sequel setups like Amazing Spider-Man 2, though. A cheeky post-credits sequence in which shots are fired at Marvel and DC's universe-building practises will probably be the extent of it.

When Fox was trying to put X-Force together almost half a decade ago with Jeff Wadlow attached, the team's lineup comprised Cable, Domino, Warpath, Cannonball and a hooded woman who resembles Rogue. How much that changes remains to be seen, but expect other recruits to appear in future X-movies between now and then.