The next installment in the mutant saga, "X-Men: Apocalypse" will feature a new start for the mutant universe. It's not a coincidence that Fox is also introducing the new Fantastic Four.

The film studio for the mutants has been very aggressive, just as Warner-DC and even Sony. Sony has eventually tapered off with their long term plans going (temporarily) awry, but Fox is boldly challenging Marvel Studios in terms of developing shared universes.

They do have advantages. The X-Men canon is wide with a multitude of characters they can use. The Fantastic Four, while having strictly four heroes, has one of the widest rogue's galleries at their disposal.

If the Fantastic Four reboot will succeed, then it seems like Fox might beat Marvel in terms of a super hero team mash-up (but Marvel is already hard at work with the Avengers-Guardians of the Galaxy team up against Thanos). While Marvel has the benefit of long-term development, Fox may try the element of surprise.

The pop culture website What Culture has explored this possibility:

"..if Fox do combine the X-Men and Fantastic Four series into a shared reality, that'll be the next big superhero universe on-screen besides the slowly evolving DC one. Previously there was no way that'd be compatible - how come the FF weren't mentioned in the other X-Men films, or any other superheroes for that matter? - but with the blank slate left after Days Of Future Past, surely anything's possible."

One thing seems certain, Fox is targeting a younger audience. Fantastic Four already had its recast with up and comers, and it is also rumored that "Apocalypse" might be the final film for the main "First Class" cast (James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jennifer Lawrence among others). At the same time, they will recast some of the 'classic' characters like Cyclops, Storm and Jean Grey. Channing Tatum is already assured as Gambit and it's speculated that a new team will include him, perhaps even led by him (considering Tatum's A-list status). The question is Wolverine, as it seems like Hugh Jackman has become ageless just as his character.

Will "X-Men Apocalypse" introduce a new timeline with Fantastic Four in it? May 27, 2016 is the date for the mutant faithful!