It has been years now since the film rights to the X-Men were acquired by Disney.
Since Disney acquired 20th Century Fox, the Marvel Cinematic Universe now has access to a whole host of other Marvel Comics characters – including the mutants of the X-Men comics.
In 2019, Marvel Studios’ big boss Kevin Feige confirmed that we would be getting a cinematic outing focused on the X-Men, offering a new take following on from the Fox film series of X-Men films.
So, when will we see this film outing, and which characters will the film connect to? Here is everything you need to know about the untitled mutants film on the way.
In the meantime, we also have a guide for you on how to watch all of the Marvel movies and TV shows in order.
When will X-Men join the MCU?
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige first confirmed that a Marvel Cinematic Universe film centred on mutants was in development during the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con.
In 2021, Feige told Collider: “It has been heavily discussed, as you might imagine. And we have a good feeling of where it’s going and when it’s going, but that all remains to be seen.”
So, it is safe to say that Marvel is playing its cards close to its chest but we have no confirmed release date for the X-Men’s next cinematic outing.
Technically one of the X-Men has now appeared in the MCU after Professor X, played by Patrick Stewart, appeared a a member of the Illuminati in a parallel universe during the events of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Not only that the final scenes of Disney Plus series Ms Marvel saw lead character Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) discover that she is a mutant, a moment accompanied by the familiar theme tune to X-Men: The Animated Series.
So we also have our first mutant heroine in the MCU!
Who could star in an MCU X-Men movie?
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Well, given her status as the first official mutant in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s central 616 universe, it is possible that Iman Vellani could reprise her role as Ms Marvel/Kamala Khan.
Vellani told Marvel.com that she emailed Kevin Feige after discovering her heroine – who is an Inhuman in Marvel Comics – would be used to introduce mutants to the central MCU.
“They sent me, and only me, the draft [of the final episode], and I immediately freaked out,” Vellani told the website. “I emailed Kevin Feige in all caps. I was like, are you doing this like for real? Are you sure? I’m so honored! I was like yelling at him through an email. I was freaking out. This is the biggest deal in the world, and the fact that it’s happening in our show is crazy.”
Elsewhere, we can likely expect an appearance from Professor X at some point, but we doubt he will be played by Patrick Stewart despite his appearance in the Multiverse of Madness.
There have also been suggestions that Taron Egerton could be taking on the role of Wolverine/James “Logan” Howlett in future cinematic outings.
Speaking on ambitions to play Wolverine, Egerton told The New York Times: “I don’t think it would be wrong to say that. I’d be excited but I’d be apprehensive as well, because Hugh [Jackman] is so associated with the role that I’d wonder if it’d be very difficult for someone else to do it.”
He added: “Hopefully if it does come around, they’ll give me a shot.”
Otherwise, we have very little idea about which characters from the X-Men canon could appear here.
What MCU titles will this connect to?
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As it stands, the introduction of mutants and the X-Men into the MCU would be massive for the whole franchise.
There will be an automatic tie-in with Professor X’s appearance in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, while Ms Marvel is already confirmed to be connected to X-Men and the mutants by confirming Kamala Khan’s identity as a mutant and played the iconic theme song from X-Men: The Animated Series (now rebranded as X-Men ’97).
This same theme tune played when Professor X made his entrance into the Multiverse of Madness.
Considering this revelation, the future for mutants will also likely connect to Khan’s next outing, the film The Marvels which also stars Brie Larson as Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers and Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau.
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