Marvel has officially introduced Mutants into the MCU with Ms. Marvel, now a mutant instead of an Inhuman like she is in the comics. After this reveal in the Ms. Marvel finale many were expecting to hear some exciting X-Men related news at Marvel’s Hall H panel during San Diego Comic Con. However, while a ton of thrilling Marvel news was shared the X-Men were noticeably absent. Journalist and former Birth. Movies. Death. editor-in-chief Devin Faraci, via Cinema Sangha, recently shared what he knows about these delays.
THE X-MEN WILL HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL 2025 TO OFFICIALLY JOIN THE MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE
“Despite the introduction of mutants at the end of Ms. Marvel, there’s no mutants in Phase 5. I know why. I know why there’s no mutants. I know why this is going to take a while. There might be individual mutants, there might be other characters that show a certain interest. The reason why is the contractual situation with the original Fox stuff is going to be in effect until 2025. So, if they don’t want to use those actors, then they have to wait until that contract all expires.”
RELATED: SDCC: EXCITING PROJECTS REVEALED FOR PHASES 4, 5, AND 6
He continued to explain why it is unlikely the famous team of Mutant superheroes will show up until Phase 7 after the end of the Multiverse Saga.
“If they’re going to have stuff hitting in 2025 at the end of the contract, then they’ll announce it. But I think they actually can’t go into production until the contract’s up. So it’s not even a release – it’s the same thing with Superman. So they’re going to be Phase 7. So you’re not going to see mutants until Phase 7. There are going to be mutants that will show up after the Multiverse Saga is over.”
After learning this we did some more digging and discovered the actors are not the only ones that have a standing contract tying them to the X-Men. According to our sources Marvel is holding off on the X-Men because the producers of Fox’s X-Men films are still attached via contract. Disney likely wants to not only recast many of these iconic roles, but they also wants a clean break from the producers that helped shape Fox’s X-Men story as well.
It seems Disney’s main concern is not the return of past actors as evidenced by Patrick Stewart reprising his role in Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness. Instead the primary reason for waiting is presumably to get a clean break from producers, like Simon Kinberg and Bryan Singer, who have no connection to the MCU thus far.
If Marvel Studios were to include an X-Men movie in the MCU line up before 2025 they would be included on the project as producers which at minimum would mean credit and compensation, but could also mean they have some degree of story control as well. It makes sense financially that Marvel would want to wait for the X-Men, not only so that they don’t have to pay out the past producers that wouldn’t be connected to the franchise long term, but because if they were to recast down the road the new actors could use the original actors contracts to negotiate.
RELATED: X-MEN ’97: MARVEL PULLS THE CURTAIN BACK AT THE EXTRAORDINARY ANIMATED SEQUEL AT SDCC 2022
Marvel likely will find other ways to incorporate Mutants into the MCU as they did with Ms. Marvel and Earth 838’s version of Professor Xavier with Patrick Stewart reprising the role. The Multiverse Saga offers a ton of opportunities to see some of these characters return and actors to reprise the roles for a short term appearance. Avengers: Secret Wars, which was announced during Comic Con, could be the perfect opportunity to bring in some of these characters. This limitation also offers an intriguing possibility that could lead to some very creative introductions.
Marvel could introduce Mutants that have yet to be seen on the big screen and incorporate them into the world of the MCU before bringing in the heavy hitters that make up the X-Men. This would establish Mutants within the MCU, laying the groundwork for an epic introduction of the team. And while the live-action X-Men are a few years away fans of the super powered team will still get to experience new adventures with these iconic characters. Marvel announced during the Marvel Studios Animation panel at San Diego Comic Con that their first X-Men project X-Men ’97, a continuation of the 90s X-Men animated series, will premiere in Fall 2023 with a second season already confirmed.
RELATED: BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER BRINGS EMOTIONAL TRAILER AND END TO MARVEL’S SDCC 2022
Although it is disappointing that fans will need to wait a few years to see a new version of the live action X-Men introduced into the MCU it makes sense that Marvel would want to wait. The contracts that tie both the actors and producers from the Fox era to the X-Men does put limits on what Disney can do with these characters.
The wait could prove to be an unexpected gift especially if Kevin Feige continues to lay the ground work for Mutants as he did with Ms. Marvel and Madripoor in The Falcon And The Winter Soldier. Less well known mutants could have the chance to shine on screen and teams other than the X-Men could finally have a moment in the spotlight.
The animated series is also an opportunity for Marvel Studios to see what fans want to see when these characters eventually make it to live action. While the X-Men may not be joining the Avengers anytime soon on the big screen Mutants have been officially introduced into the MCU and knowing Kevin Feige it won’t take three years to explore this plot thread.
The X-Men likely won’t be joining the MCU until 2025, but X-Men ’97 will premiere on Disney Plus in Fall 2023. What do you think about the fact that Marvel is waiting to introduce the X-Men? Are you excited for X-Men ’97? How do you think Kevin Feige will lay the groundwork for the introduction of the X-Men? Leave your thoughts in the comments below or on our social media and check back with The Illuminerdi for more.
KEEP READING: SPIDER-MAN FRESHMAN YEAR: TOM HOLLAND NOT REPRISING HIS ROLE AS PETER PARKER: EXCLUSIVE
