Disney’s 2019 acquisition of 20th Century Studios presents the tantalizing possibility for the X-Men to officially join the MCU, and it seems the media franchise is already laying the groundwork. Marvel has hinted toward the X-Men’s inclusion in the future of the MCU several times now, with the most recent link cropping up in the final moments of Disney Plus’ Ms. Marvel.
The revelation of Kamala Khan’s mutant powers is one of the first steps in the X-Men’s direction, and its prompting questions about the X-Men’s future in the MCU. Fans want to know if the X-Men we know and love from the existing live-action films will be maneuvered into the thriving media franchise, or if a new team of well-meaning mutants is being assembled.
There are technically 13 separate X-Men films in the modern, live-action franchise. The first three debuted with 2000’s X-Men, which starred Patrick Stewart as Professor X, Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, Halle Berry as Storm, and Ian McKellen as Magneto. The following three, which were released through the 2010s but were detached from the prequel films, followed Jackman’s Wolverine through his life, from his origins in X-Men: Origins – Wolverine to his eventual death in Logan. Four prequel films were released between 2011 and 2019, starring James McAvoy as a younger Charles Xavier, Michael Fassbender as a similarly youthful Erik Lehnsherr, Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, and Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique.
Then there are the final films that are technically part of this franchise. The New Mutants film, which was released to a thoroughly disappointed fanbase in 2020, starred Game of Thrones’ Maisie Williams and Stranger Things’ Charlie Heaton. Much more loved are the Deadpool films starring Ryan Reynolds. Some viewers may be surprised to read that, despite several consistent X-Men characters in the films, Deadpool rarely — if ever — interacts with the vast majority of the X-Men squad, instead teaming up with characters that were previously sidelined or outright ignored. Despite this, both Deadpool and Deadpool 2 take place in the same universe as the other X-Men films.
The lengthy history of the X-Men on screen has fans worried that the already messy timeline can’t survive a trip into the MCU. Thus, a recasting is feeling more and more likely. As much as we love McAvoy’s Xavier and Evan Peters’ Quicksilver, the trial of adapting these established and well-liked iterations into the MCU may simply be too big a task.
When it comes to Evan Peters, however, all hope is not lost with his X-Men prequels character already introduced in the MCU… kind of. Peters’ take on the character appeared in several episodes of Disney Plus’ WandaVision. The MCU already had a take on Pietro Maximoff, played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson, but ditched this version for the WandaVision cameo. This could simply be an example of Disney flexing its new acquisitions and leaning on nostalgia, or it could be a statement about the X-Men’s future in the MCU.
There is a path forward with the known X-Men cast intact, but the MCU may still choose another route. That being said, it would be foolish to ignore popular opinion and recast several of the franchise favorites, namely Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool, who embodies the foul-mouthed mercenary with every fiber of his being, and recasting him would be a massive mistake. The same can be said for Jackman’s Wolverine, but with a caveat. Reynolds is far from finished playing Deadpool — he’s made that clear several times. Jackman, on the other hand, may have delivered all that he can in the Wolverine category. He’s starred as Wolverine in seven separate films, and is fast approaching 55-years-old. While this is a perfectly reasonable age for Jackman to continue to portray the fan-favorite character, we couldn’t blame him if he didn’t want to spend his 50s getting shredded once again.
That being said, its hard to picture anyone else as Wolverine. Jackson embodied the role so well — and for so long — that he’s come to represent the character for several generations of fans. Whoever takes his place, regardless of when it happens, has some pretty massive shoes to fill.
