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We’ve all seen how since Fox has been pumping out ‘X-Men‘ and ‘Fantastic Four’ films that the comics version of these superheroes have either gone downhill, lost focus, or gone away altogether. Now ‘X-Men’ fan favorite writer Chris Claremont is blaming the movie franchises as to why this has happened. Honestly, we’ve been in agreement for years on this exact topic but it is a bit surprising to see such a high-profile visionary weighing in on the subject. For those unfamiliar with Claremont having met the X-Men through their cinematic counterparts, he was one of the writers and co-creators of many X-Men for over 15 years.

So how are the films to blame?

chris-claremont“That has nothing to do with comic sales, that has everything to do with the fact that the film rights are controlled by a rival corporation.

I guarantee you that if 10 years ago, when Marvel was approached by Disney, if the X-Men film rights were owned by Marvel Studios and not Fox the X-Men would probably still be the paramount book in the canon. The reason for the emphasis on the other titles is because Marvel / Disney control the ancillary film rights whereas all the film rights for the FF- the Fantastic Four – and the X-Men are controlled by Fox who has no interest in the comic books.
So I think the corporate publishing attitude is: “why would we go out of our way to promote a title that will benefit a rival corporation’s films when we could take that same energy and enthusiasm and focus and do it for our own properties?”

Hence the rise of the Inhumans as the new equivalent of the mutants. I could wish for something else but it ain’t my 5 billion dollars.”

Sadly it is the success of both Marvel Studios and Fox that seem to have us at a standstill on the comic creative end. However, what about the popularity of the characters and how compelling they can be if marketed more going forward?

“It’s not a matter of promotion, it’s purely a matter of ownership. If at some point Fox decides that the X-Men properties are no longer lucrative I’m sure that they will cut a deal with Disney. But I also expect that the deal they would want to cut would be extra-ordinarily expensive and Disney or Marvel might just as easily say “screw it” we love the X-Men but we are not going to hurt ourselves to get it because we have our other properties that we own that are doing far better. If you want to give it back or take a reasonable deal that’s one thing, if you’re just going to go crazy screw you.

Those are questions better posed to [Marvel Editor-in-Chief] Axel [Alonso] and the Marvel group than me, my opinion at this point is effectively as valid as any fan in this building.”

Sadly, this is all business and the bottom line is that Fox is making money off of the X-Men cinematic franchises so while we could one day see the ‘Fantastic Four’ head back to Marvel it will likely be a long time from now. All of this is, of course, conjecture but really does seem to be what many of the fans have thought for years now.

Do you think that the ‘X-Men’ will have a comic resurgence even without Marvel Studios being able to take over the films? Share your thoughts below True Believers!

Sources: Bleeding Cool

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Stuart Conover is an author, blogger, and all around geek. When not busy being a father and husband he tries to spend as much time as possible immersed in comic books, science fiction, and horror! Would you like to know more? Follow him on Twitter!