It’s been quite a while since we got news that Disney would be acquiring most of 21st Century Fox. When all said and done, the House of Mouse would acquire most of the assets for the studio, along with plenty of big properties like the X-Men and Deadpool. But when would they actually be able to do this?

We’ve pretty much been talking as if this whole thing was a done deal, but the reality is that it needs to be pushed through regulatory approval first. If the Department of Justice thinks that this merger gives a single entity too much power, then it may not go through at all. But let’s assume that it will. If so, when will this happen?

RELATED – Seth MacFarlane Doesn’t Think The Disney-Fox Deal Will Change Much

During a town hall meeting, 21st Century Fox president Peter Rice told Fox employees that the Disney-Fox transaction could be completed by summer 2019 — at the latest! This would make the total time around 18 months, which is around what was expected for a deal of this magnitude.

I’ll be interested to see what happens to the Marvel properties once this goes through. Despite the pending acquisition, it seems like Fox has sped up its development of its properties, and if they continue as such, the X-Men, Deadpool, New Mutants, Gambit, Doctor Doom, and many more could be at awkward stages, where nixing them could be more costly than just letting them go through. And then there’s the question of how and if they’d be incorporated into the MCU as a whole.

So many questions! Luckily, we have well over a year to figure this tuff out.

Don’t forget to share this post on your Facebook wall and with your Twitter followers! Just hit the buttons on the top of this page.

SOURCE: Deadline