Fox Near Deal for 'X-Men' Live-Action Series
Fox is inching closer to a live-action X-Men series.
"[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 told THR on Thursday at the Television Critics Association's summer press tour stop.
"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 said of how the deal with Marvel will be structured. "This will be exclusively the franchise as it has existed at Fox."
While conversations to bring the franchise to the small screen are underway, sources indicate a deal is far from complete, with Marvel — which owns the comic rights — still having to sign off on the deal. The comic book powerhouse is based at Disney, with ABC shows including Agents of SHIELD and Agent Carter on the network and five upcoming straight-to-series programs in the works there. Marvel would have to sign off on the deal.