Thread:SeanWheeler/@comment-26095292-20171215215954/@comment-2112031-20171222014428

Recasting is pretty much guaranteed. Both Patrick Stewart and Hugh Jackman have officially retired from their respective roles after Logan. I'd definitely like for the current X-Men movies to at least properly conclude prior to getting rebooted into the MCU.

In terms of rights to characters, there are two kinds of rights that movie studios have for films. There are the "film production" rights and there are "film distribution" rights. The former dictates whether a character can star (or at least appear) in a movie. The latter dictates whether the movie can be put into theaters.

Right now, the only rights still out of Marvel's reach are Spider-Man, Hulk and their respective supporting casts. Although in Hulk's case it's only the distribution rights.