When the Marvel Cinematic Universe launched in 2008 with Iron Man, the overall landscape of the Marvel movies in order looked quite different. In addition to Sony having the film rights to Spider-Man, which is still the case today, 20th Century Fox had exclusive dibs on telling cinematic stories centered on the X-Men and Fantastic Four. But when Disney acquired Fox in 2019, Marvel’s mutants and First Family came along for the ride, so now the MCU can finally utilize these characters in its ever-growing mythology.
While The Fantastic Four is slated for release in summer 2025 on the upcoming Marvel movies schedule, there’s still no word on when we’ll get a straightforward X-Men movie in the MCU, although various elements from the Fox era of X-Men movies will be revisited this summer in Deadpool & Wolverine. However, even setting aside the forthcoming team-up between Ryan Reynolds’ Wade Wilson and Hugh Jackman’s Logan, the MCU has dropped various X-Men references and appearances in its movies and TV shows in the last several years, so let’s go over what’s been dished out to fans so far.
Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness
The MCU’s first foray into X-Men-related territory came in May 2022 with the release of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. When the Earth-616 version of Stephen Strange visited Earth-838 with America Chavez, he met the Illuminati of that world, and a Patrick Stewart-reprised Professor X was one of its members. This version of Professor X was visually modeled after his counterpart from X-Men: The Animated Series with his green suit and yellow hover chair. A riff on the classic ‘90s cartoon even played when he first appeared onscreen.
Like the other Illuminati members aside from Mordo, this Professor X died while trying to prevent the Earth-616 Wanda Maximoff from taking America Chavez. It’s unclear if he ever led the X-Men in this universe or was solely tied to the Illuminati, but either way, now Earth-838 is without its strongest telepath.
Ms. Marvel - “No Normal”
Two months after Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness came out, the first X-Men-related seed to be planted in the main MCU reality, i.e. Earth-616, was planted in the miniseries Ms. Marvel (which, like all the other Marvel Studios-produced TV shows, streams exclusively with a Disney+ subscription). In the finale, titled “No Normal,” Kamala Khan’s friend Bruno shared with her that her hard light powers, which she channels through the Quantum Band that’s been in her family for generations, stems from a “mutation” in her DNA.
Giving Iman Vellani’s Kamala hard light powers rather than her shapeshifting abilities from the comics was already a big change, but turning her into a mutant was another significant deviation, as she was introduced as an Inhuman. Funny enough though, the comics ended up following in the MCU’s footsteps shortly thereafter, as Kamala discovered she had a dormant X-gene, thus making her a mutant/human hybrid. Now that version of Kamala is closely associated with the X-Men, so maybe Vellani’s version will follow suit down the line.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
One of the first characters introduced in what we now look at as Marvel’s mythology was Namor the Sub-Mariner. The character has frequently been called “Marvel’s first mutant” when it comes to publishing, since he’s been preceded chronologically in the comics by people like Wolverine, Apocalypse and Mystique. Well, although the word “mutant” is never uttered in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, it’s been confirmed that Tenoch Huerta’s version of Namor shares the same genetic background.
In the MCU’s main reality, Namor was born in 1571, and while his mother was pregnant with him, she injected a vibranium-laced herb in order to make herself immune from smallpox. This resulted in her and the rest of the people in Yucatán growing gills and developing blue skin, moving underwater and establishing Talokan. Namor himself additionally grew pointed ears and tiny wings on his ankles and is able to breathe normally both underwater and on land, as well as looking more human compared to the other Talokan denizens and lives much longer than them. So, although Huerta’s Namor has a very different background than the one from the comics, he’s still as mutant as they come.
The Marvels
In The Marvels’ end-credits scene, Monica Rambeau was revealed to have been transported to another universe after she patched up the rupture between realities that Dar-Benn tore open. Upon awakening, she was greeted by this reality’s version of her mother, Maria Rambeau, only this Maria is the superhero Binary and never had a daughter.
More importantly for this list though, Hank McCoy, a.k.a. Beast, was in the room, with Kelsey Grammer vocally reprising the character. This Beast also mentioned that “Charles asked for an update,” meaning Professor X exists in this universe too, and the laboratory they’re in has a circular door with the X-symbol on it, just like the one that led to Cerebro in the original X-Men movies.
Not only do we have another X-Man living on a different Earth, but it’s seemingly implied that this Earth has its own X-Men, which wasn’t as clear-cut on Earth-838. It stands to reason that there will eventually come a time when Monica makes it back to Earth-616. When that happens, maybe we’ll get to see some of this world’s other X-Men with her.
X-Men ’97 - “Remember It”
You may be asking why I’m throwing X-Men ’97 in here considering that not only would this show not exist without mutants, it’s not tied to the MCU. Well you’re right… or at least, it’s not tied directly. Indirectly, however, the fifth episode of the X-Men: The Animated Series revival established a connection with What If… ?, the show that explores various realities throughout the Marvel multiverse. It’s hard to make out above, but if you look closely, you’ll see the outline of a Watcher, specifically Uatu, What If… ?’s narrator.
This confirms that the X-Men: The Animated Series/X-Men ’97 universe is set within the same multiverse as the MCU franchise. However, don’t go assuming this means those shows’ versions of Cyclops, Jen Grey, Wolverine and more will ever appear in live-action. That doesn’t seem likely, though maybe there’s a chance that X-Men ’97 could someday have a direct crossover with What If… ? or another animated show like Marvel Zombies or Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.
Keep checking back here for more updates on how the X-Men are being seeded throughout the MCU. Feel free to also get the lay of the non-MCU cinematic land in the coming months with our 2024 movies schedule.
