20th Century Fox lines up "Fantastic 4," "Wolverine" sequels as "X-Men" crossover rumors strengthen

Talk about being optimistic.

Before audiences have seen a second of the relaunched “Fantastic Four” movie starring Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Kate Mara and Jamie Bell, 20th Century Fox has established July 14, 2017 for its sequel. Mind you, there’s absolutely nothing to necessarily sell audiences that the June 19, 2015 film will be worthy of a sequel, but Fox wants to stay in the FF business. The more cynical folks (like myself in this case) may think this is simply so Fox can retain the FF license and not have to fork it over to the more capable hands at Marvel Studios.

In a slightly less surprising note, Hugh Jackman will be back for a third Wolverine solo film. “The Wolverine” performed well, grossing $414.8 million worldwide and helped audiences forget the stench of the abysmal “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.” The next Wolverine film will see James Mangold return as director and come to theaters in 2017 as well.

Fox also has a third Marvel film slated for July 13, 2018 and since it only has access to the Fantastic Four and X-Men licenses, this could be the long-rumored crossover film between the two super teams. That could be kinda awesome, but Fox’s history with either license has been spotty at best. An Avengers crossover with another team in the Marvel Studios license? Sign me up yesterday!

So what do you think? A bit early for this planning or are you excited about the future projects?