‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ and New ‘Deadpool’ Movie Will Share Continuity

With 'X-Men: First Class' and 'Days of Future Past' essentially rebooting the franchise for the better, there's still hope for the recently announced 'Deadpool' movie. If you've been wondering how (or if) these films and mutants will cross paths or even share a timeline with all the time-hopping, we've got an answer, courtesy of 'X-Men' producer Simon Kinberg.

In an interview with ComicBook.com, Kinberg confirmed that the new 'Deadpool' film is definitely a part of Fox's plans for the 'X-Men' franchise. Ryan Reynolds is set to reprise his role as the character, with the film scheduled to hit theaters on February 12, 2016. Kinberg commented on how the studio has been inspired by Marvel's approach, and how they're looking to do something similar:

I guess I would say it’s part of certainly an overall timeline and thought process that goes into these films, some of which is inspired by the comics and some which is inspired by seeing what Marvel’s done with telling a larger tapestry and linking all those movies together, even as they stand independently as well. The same kind of thought is going to go into these X-Men movies at Fox.

'X-Men: Apocalypse' will hit theaters a few months later on May 27, 2016, so there's crossover potential for sure, but if they're taking a page out of Marvel's book, it's likely that Fox wants to give themselves room to play around a bit. In the comics, Deadpool mostly remains independent from the X-Men, so it's possible that we may see the character eventually pop up in 'X-Men' films down the line, while his own film could feature an end-credits scene for 'Apocalypse.'