Marvel teases “X-Men” plans: “Secret Wars” will launch 'new age of mutants' in MCU

Marvel teases “X-Men” plans: “Secret Wars” will launch 'new age of mutants' in MCU

"Some X-Men players that you might recognize" will pop up in the next few movies, Marvel's Kevin Feige confirms.

The X-Men are coming to the MCU, and Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige teased when and how they'll make their arrival.

Appearing over webcam at a Disney Content Showcase at the event APAC, held in Singapore, the president of the superhero entertainment giant said Avengers: Secret Wars will be a big part of those X-plans.

"It has already started. Certainly Deadpool & Wolverine was the biggest yet," Feige said. "I think you'll see that continue into our next few movies and some X-Men players that you might recognize. And then right after that, the whole story of Secret Wars really leads us into a new age of mutants and of the X-Men. And, again, one of these dreams come true that we finally have the X-Men back at Marvel Studios."

Courtesy of Marvel Animation Professor Xavier summons his X-Men in 'X-Men '97'

Courtesy of Marvel Animation

Professor Xavier summons his X-Men in 'X-Men '97'

Related: Halle Berry responds to a misleading script used to get her to sign onto X-Men: The Last Stand: 'shady s---'

The Walt Disney Company's purchase of 21st Century Fox properties — and with it the screen rights to characters like the X-Men and Daredevil — closed in 2019, but Feige previously told Entertainment Weekly there was still a gestation period where they couldn't incorporate characters into their MCU plans.

We've only begun to see in the past couple years more movement, such as the word "mutant" used to describe Kamala Khan in the Disney+ series Ms. Marvel; Kelsey Grammer reprising his X-Men role of Beast in the post-credit scene for The Marvels; and the debut of Deadpool & Wolverine, which incorporated multiple X-Men characters alongside Ryan Reynolds' Wade Wilson and Hugh Jackman's Logan. Disney+ also debuted X-Men '97, a sequel series to the beloved cartoon from the 1990s that is now returning for season 2.

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It's unclear which of these familiar X-Men characters will pop up next, but Reynolds told EW that Marvel is "obsessed" with Channing Tatum's turn as Gambit, who arrived on the scene in Deadpool & Wolverine. "It's kind of like the same situation I went through," he said. "Once you show that it works well, that's really what they need. Sometimes they just need to see it in action."

Jay Maidment/ 20th Century Studios/MARVEL Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds in 'Deadpool & Wolverine'

Jay Maidment/ 20th Century Studios/MARVEL

Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds in 'Deadpool & Wolverine'

Related: Ryan Reynolds says Marvel is 'obsessed' with Channing Tatum's Gambit after Deadpool & Wolverine

Regarding those "next few movies" Feige referred to, Captain America: Brave New World will arrive in theaters Feb. 14, and we already know that film will incorporate adamantium (the precious, indestructible metal that lines Wolverine's skeleton) in a major way. Thunderbolts* will then arrive on May 2, and Feige teased at the APAC showcase that the asterisk in the title will be explained "at some point during the movie." After that, The Fantastic Four: First Steps hits theaters July 25. The movie wraps filming next week and Feige teased, "All those characters go right into our next Avengers movie."

Avengers: Secret Wars won't arrive May 7, 2027, and we have a few other movies (mostly untitled ones) to get through before then. But we know Robert Downey Jr. is returning to the MCU to play Doctor Victor von Doom, who will be the new Thanos-level threat. Joe and Anthony Russo, the directors behind Marvel hits from Captain America: The Winter Soldier to Avengers: Endgame, return to direct first Avengers: Doomsday (May 1, 2026) and then Avengers: Secret Wars.