Summary
Marvelis entering its mutant era afterDeadpool & Wolverine, and it could solve a significant MCU problem that has existed sinceAvengers: Endgame.Deadpool & Wolverineis exciting for many reasons. It’s the first R-rated movie in the MCU and brings two popular X-Men characters into the main timeline.The MCU timelinehas teased mutants in a few recent projects, likeMs. Marvel,Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, andThe Marvels, butDeadpool & Wolverineis the first project featuring well-known mutants as the leads.
According to Kevin Feige, the upcoming film is just the start of mutants in the MCU. At aDeadpool & Wolverinepress conferenceScreen Rantattended,Feige teased the “mutant era”, stating, “everything post-Deadpool & Wolverine will be the mutant era coming into the MCU.” It’s unclear how mutants could factor intoupcoming Marvel movieslikeCaptain America: Brave New WorldorFantastic Four, but it’s good to know there is a plan for the mutants. These missing characters could also solve many of the MCU’s problems, including one significant issue that Marvel needs to address for its future plans.
Kevin Feige’s X-Men Comments Could Support An Unexpected MCU Theory
Deadpool & Wolverine may not only revisit Fox’s X-Men movie characters, but also tie directly into the creation of the MCU’s own mutants.
The X-Men Can Be The Central Figures Of The MCU After Avengers: Secret Wars
Avengers: Endgamewas a wonderful sendoff for Iron Man and Captain America, two characters who served as the backbone of Marvel’s Infinity Saga. Tony Stark sacrificed himself to save the world, while Steve Rogers finally got his happy ending with Peggy Carter. However, the ending of their stories led to the beginning of Marvel’s problems. The MCU was left without central characters that kept audiences returning, and Marvel has been scrambling to find a new roster of main heroes that would anchor the Multiverse Saga.
It’s almost too late for Marvel to figure it out beforeAvengers 5, but the mutants are an excellent solution to this problem afterAvengers: Secret Wars. The X-Men have an outstanding roster of heroes, like Cyclops, Wolverine, Jean Grey, and Professor X, who can act as recurring characters whose stories are intertwined in the larger MCU. The X-Men are wildly popular, and audiences have long waited to see them join the MCU. Making the X-Men the backbone of Marvel’s next saga allows Marvel to keep audiences invested in its next chapter.
Marvel Can Take Advantage Of The X-Men’s Refueled Popularity After X-Men ‘97
The X-Men have always been popular, but it had been a while before a movie or TV show featuring the iconic mutants was released. 2024 ended the drought withX-Men ‘97, a reboot of the 1990sX-Men: The Animated Series. The series blew away viewer’s expectations, delivering a nostalgic return to these characters that explored darker and more mature stories. It was a massive hit with critics and audiences,X-Men ‘97holds the highest critic score on Rotten Tomatoesfor any Marvel Studios project, currently sitting at 99%.
X-Men ‘97boosted the X-Men’s popularity, and it reminded viewers how great the mutants are, especially when the storytelling is as great and consistent as this series. It also highlighted several underappreciatedMarvelcharacters, like Rogue, Gambit, and Storm, showing there are many memorable mutants besides Wolverine, Professor X, and Magneto. The mutant era could be just what the MCU needs to refuel its popularity, and it should start well withDeadpool & Wolverine.
Marvel Cinematic Universe
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a multimedia superhero franchise that began in 2008 with Paramount’s Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr. The franchise quickly grew in popularity, with Disney eventually buying out Marvel Entertainment in 2009. The MCU consists of dozens of movies and TV shows, most notably Avengers: Endgame, WandaVision, and Loki.
