Fox Taps Simon Kinberg To Build Shared X-Men And Fantastic Four Movie Universe

Mark Millar, who serves as a creative consultant to Twentieth Century Fox's Fantastic Four and X-Men movie franchises, already hinted at a potential shared universe this summer. Now, the studio is one step closer to making it a full-on reality.

Fox just signed a three-year, first-look deal with Simon Kinberg, a writer and producer on X-Men: Days of Future Past and the upcoming Fantastic Four movie reboot. That deal gives Kinberg the go-ahead to start up a shared universe similar to the one Marvel Studios has developed, and that DC/Warner Bros. is trying to get going.

Here's what Kinberg told The Hollywood Reporter:

I have a lot of ideas on how to built those brands and do what everybody is thinking of these days: Be like Marvel. I want to be able to build stories over multiple movies.

Kinberg's writing credits include Mr. and Mrs. Smith, XXX: State of the Union, Jumper, X-Men: The Last Stand and the Robert Downey Jr.-starring Sherlock Holmes. He is also apparently involved in the upcoming Star Wars films.

As to what the proposed shared universe would look like -- the actors who have been around since the first X-Men film have been playing their characters for more than 14 years now -- it's hard to say. Maybe the movies are meant to spin out of the conclusion of the freshly pseudo-announced not-even-officially-titled X-Men: Apocalypse?

And does Kinberg's now-prominent role mean Millar won't be shaping the Fox Marvel U? It'll be interesting to see how things shake out.

[Via ScreenCrush]