X-Men MCU talks have been “long and ongoing”, says Kevin Feige

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

After the release of Dark Phoenix in 2019, the 20th Century Fox era of the X-Men movies came to an end due to the Disney/Fox merger. The X-Men will now be a part of the MCU but when they will actually arrive has been a question since Marvel Studios acquired the brand. Marvel seems to have things planned out for the next few years and the X-Men haven't been a part of any of those announcements. Despite no official word on the horizon, Marvel boss Kevin Feige revealed during a chat with "Screenrant" that talks about the introduction of the X-Men are very much ongoing.

"You know how much I love the X-Men. I already said that's where I started. I can't tell you anything before we actually announced it, but rest assured, the discussions have been long and ongoing internally."

In typical Marvel fashion, Feige isn't revealing too much but he at least divulges that conversations are happening behind the scenes. The Fantastic Four, which also hails from the 20th Century Fox era, is now under the control of Marvel Studios and we at least have some info on a project involving the family of superheroes. During Disney's Investor Day, it was announced that Spider-Man: Homecoming director Jon Watts would be directing an upcoming Fantastic Four film. When the film will happen is still a mystery but at least that's more information than we have received about the X-Men. Some fans think it will be tricky to introduce mutants into the MCU but considering all we've seen so far, I highly doubt that will be a problem.  

Before Marvel Studios and Disney acquired the rights to the X-Men franchise, The 20th Century Fox films brought in over $6 billion at the box office across 13 movies. The franchise began in 2000 with Bryan Singer at the helm of X-Men, which proved to be an early and necessary hit to establish what the Marvel films could do at the box office. The series is a mixed bag critically with some fantastic entries (X2, Logan, X-Men: First Class, and X-Men: Days of Future Past) and some entries that completely missed the mark (X-Men Origins: Wolverine, X-Men: The Last Stand, X-Men: Apocalypse, and Dark Phoenix). If anything, the franchise can be frustratingly inconsistent so the hope is that once they're introduced into the MCU, they'll be critically viable again.

This isn't the first time that Feige has recently mentioned the X-Men. During an interview with "Deadline", Feige was asked if Captain Marvel's Monica Rambeau, who will appear on the Disney+ series WandaVision, will "ramp" into the X-Men reboot. Feige responded by saying "In hindsight, in five years if when we're talking about everything that's happened, everything can be a ramp to everything, specifically though, yes, Monica in Captain Marvel 2 and specifically to Wanda teaming up with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness." It was a cagey response when means that "ramp" may have been a part of some of those "long and ongoing" talks but Feige won't be giving up anything until he's ready.

How do YOU think the X-Men should be introduced into the MCU? When do YOU think it will happen?