Sorting Out Fox & Marvel Rights

20th Century Fox and Marvel were poised to make concessions on the film rights on several of the key characters from the Marvel Universe  says Variety.

Under their deal, Fox can hold onto its Marvel characters as long as they keep making films involving them. If they don't, the rights revert back to Marvel and their new owners at Disney. Fox currently owns the rights to the "X-Men film series" "Fantastic Four films" and Daredevil Movies- the latter two has the studio developing reboots.

As to FF: The studio has confirmed that it is going to reboot that with "Chronicle" director Josh Trank set to helm. Jeremy Slater was just hired to pen a new script draft about four individuals who gained superpowers after exposure to cosmic rays during a scientific mission to outer space.

Michael Green ("Green Lantern") wrote the previous draft.

Meantime director David Slade departed the "Untitled Daredevil Reboot" film last month.

David James Kelly had been hired to re-write that script.

At one point Fringe TV series writer Brad Caleb Kane was at work and said to be adapting the "Born Again" comic book story arc, by writer Frank Miller that sees our hero go insane and destitute at the hands of the villain 'Kingpin', as well as his subsequent struggle to build a new life for himself The great storyline originally appeared from issues #227-233 in 1986.

Word is that director Joe Carnahan is Fox's top choice to take the helm of the project should it go forward. Carnahan reportedly won over execs with his "Frank Miller-esque, hardcore 70s thriller" pitch.

Unfortunately the rights to "Daredevil" are about to run out in October meaning the studio has no chance of making the deadline. Thus came word that the studio has entered talks with Marvel hoping to renegotiate their "Daredevil" rights agreement and secure more time to make the new pic.

And Marvel was said to be considering capitulating as Fox was offering them something they desperately wanted - the rights to Galactus and the Silver Surfer– two key aspects of the "Fantastic Four" universe which Fox owns and Marvel would love to use in their future films. There's also talk that there would be a co-financing arrangement for "Daredevil".

Then later in the afternoon, Deadline nixed the Variety report, claiming their sources have "strenuously denied" the reports saying the current talks are very much about Disney co-financing the "Daredevil" reboot. If not, Fox is reportedly ready to let the character revert back to Marvel.