As of December 14th, 2017, the X-Men, along with Fantastic Four and a certain Merc With a Mouth, are headed back home to Marvel Studios.
Exactly when we can expect the MCU to swing its doors open to Wolverine et. al is another question entirely (and one that Marvel boss Kevin Feige isn’t prepared to answer…yet), but rest assured, the world of comic book movies we know and cherish is about to be flipped on its head in the best possible way.
Now for the million-dollar question: how will Marvel’s creators integrate mutants into the MCU? One particularly compelling theory suggested that the Fantastic Four had slipped into a wormhole in the early 2000s, only to emerge in 20XX when Marvel is already deep into development on Phase 4 and Earth’s Mightiest Heroes are sharing the screen with mutants.
As for the X-Men, well, the Dynamic Duel: DC vs. Marvel podcast has drawn up a pretty credible theory as to how Professor X and Co. will be introduced to Marvel’s ongoing film franchise.
Spoilers: it all stems from Professor X and his decision to hide his school of mutants from the prying eye of the public. That means the X-Men have always existed within the MCU continuity – they’ve just been kept out of sight.
“What if mutants have been around in the MCU this entire time? Like they were there for the Battle of New York, but the reason no one remembers them is that Professor X has been neutralizing them with Cerebro?”
“He’s just mind-wiping everybody?”
“Yeah, using Cerebro. And that’s how he keeps the mutants’ anonymity…it would be cool if mutants did already exist in the MCU, but no one knew about them. People would just keep getting mind-wiped.”
Asked if that compromises Professor X’s morality, one of the show’s hosts noted:
Yeah, but he’s done shitty things like that before. So I think it’s not outside his character. And then maybe when they’re introduced to the MCU, perhaps Professor X is no longer able to hide the existence of mutants because Magento, like, launches an offensive against mankind…or destroys Cerebro.
So, there you have it: another X-Men theory to add to the growing collection. Truth be told, and as Feige stressed in yesterday’s interview, we’ll likely be waiting another three or four years before we see the full effects of Disney’s acquisition, so don’t hold your breath for the fabled X-Men Vs. Avengers crossover just yet.
But what are your thoughts on this speculative plot point? Is it enough to weave two worlds together? Or does it threaten to undermine the current iteration of the MCU? You can, as always, drop your thoughts, comments and predictions below.