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Disney-Fox deal: 'Wolverine the Avenger' and other dream projects that could become reality

Spider-man and Deadpool joining forces? Avengers versus X-Men? With Disney buying assets from Fox, these dream collaborations could become reality.
Josh Brolin, left, and Robert Downey Jr. jokingly face off at D23, but their characters throw down in epic fashion in 'Avengers: Infinity War.' (Photo: Jesse Grant, Getty Images, for Disney)

It's finally happening, and a lot of nerd dreams may come true in the near future.

The Walt Disney Co. said Thursday that it had reached a $52.4 billion deal to acquire a huge swath of assets from 21st Century Fox, the same Fox that has long controlled the on-screen fate of characters like the X-Men, Deadpool and The Fantastic Four.

And while there's no guarantee that the acquisition means these Fox-controlled Marvel characters would revert to the all-powerful Marvel Cinematic Universe, we certainly hope it does.

If that happens, here are five dream projects that need to be added to Marvel's slate of upcoming films and shows as soon as possible.

Wolverine the Avenger

This is the big one. So big that Hugh Jackman himself has said that he would don the claws once more if it was in an Avengers movie.

It would also be the first sign of the X-Men being woven back into MCU storylines. As of now, the Inhumans have served as our mutant stand-ins and that hasn't gone very well so far. I just hope we finally get the yellow and blue outfit if this happens.

A REAL Fantastic Four movie!

No disrespect to Chris Evans and Michael B. Jordan who did what they could as Johnny Storm, but they are much better as Captain America and Killmonger since none of the previous Fantastic Four movies have captured the humor and spirit of Marvel's most important family.

Like they did with for Spider-Man, Marvel can do the character justice by skipping the origin story, nixing the grittiness and injecting the fun. Cap seems to agree.

A Spider-Man/Deadpool team up

In the comics this bromance has been magical. And with both Tom Holland and Ryan Reynolds being so lovable in their first turns as the wall crawler and the merc with a mouth, this movie could be hilarious. It also needs to includes lots of jokes about Josh Brolin being both Thanos and Cable.

Even better, add it to the slate the Netflix/Marvel shows. That gives them more time to really make the relationship sing, and plenty of space of Deadpool to be his inappropriate self if Marvel isn't interested in making an R-rated movie.

Avengers vs. X-Men

This was a mega comics event for Marvel in 2012, much like Civil War was in 2006. And while Civil War wasn't the best comic story, it made for a great movie.

I think the same could be done for Avengers vs. X-Men, and they would start the war in Avengers 4. This might be a nice way to introduce to new, Marvel take on X-Men, and finally give the splintered Avengers a worthy adversary to team up against.

The Illuminati

In the comics, The Illuminati is a secret society of Marvels most brilliant minds and influential leaders. Decisions they've made, like sending the Hulk to space, has led to major change in the Marvel Universe.

The problem is, it's a team comprised of Marvel and Fox controlled characters, so there as been no hope of bringing them all together. If this Disney/Fox deal happens, the film versions of Iron Man, Dr. Strange, Professor Xavier, Black Bolt, Namor and Mr. Fantastic can finally sit at the same table.

USA TODAY contributed to this story. Call IndyStar reporter Justin L. Mack at (317) 444-6138 or email him at justin.mack@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter: @justinlmack.

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