If you’re a big fan of comic book films like I am, I’m sure we’ve shared a similar frustration over the years of seeing various movie studios rigorously fighting tooth and nail to hold on to the movie rights of all these different Marvel Comics characters, which of course prevents them from ever joining forces on the big screen like they do in the comics. Marvel Studios (now owned by The Walt Disney Company) is where almost any fan will tell you all the characters belong, mainly due to their winning critical track record, loyalty to the spirit of the source material, and the fact that all their separate film franchises connect into one giant shared universe that’s full of crossover potential. However, Columbia Pictures (Sony) has held on to the Spider-Man rights for over 15 years and 20th Century Fox has owned the film rights to the X-Men and the Fantastic Four for longer than that! The history behind why the movie rights to all of these iconic Marvel comic characters are split between different studios is a story in and of itself.
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