Anyone paying attention to the moves being made in the Marvel Cinematic Universe knows that then X-Men are coming, and likely will receive their own upcoming Marvel movie. Similar to the way that the MCU plans to put its own unique spin on the mythology of The Fantastic Four this July, Marvel Studios will want to course correct some of the creative decisions made on the X-Men during the Fox era of movies. A lot of that was used for punchline fodder in last summer’s Deadpool and Wolverine. It’s time to get serious.
However, you could also argue that the X-Men have been working their way into the MCU Proper for years now. In addition to the blatantly obvious inclusion of Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine in a massive MCU blockbuster, we have heard the term “Mutant” being used in previous stories, are about to learn more about Adamantium in Captain America: Brave New World, and had a Beast cameo at the end of 2023’s The Marvels. Nevermind the fact that the X-Men are coming. I’d argue that they’re already here.
And so would Eternals and Captain America: Brave New World producer Nate Moore, one of the key creative voices behind the scenes at Marvel Studios for years. Moore made the press rounds on behalf of Anthony Mackie’s upcoming Captain America film, and when he sat down with CinemaBlend, we asked him about the inclusion of Adamantium in Brave New World, as well as what he wants casual moviegoers to know about the material (which eventually coats the skeleton of Wolverine, making him virtually indestructible). Moore told us:
The casual fans should know that it's incredibly valuable. It's incredibly rare. It's potentially incredibly hard. And that's kind of it. It really is a bread crumb towards an idea that super fans are going to be very excited about. But one thing that we're trying to do is be mindful moving forward of laying bread crumbs that will pay off. We don't want to just throw a bread crumb out there and let it go away. We want to be very intentional. If and when we get to X-Men, and start to build out that universe, we want to feel like it was a natural outgrowth, rather than a full-stop new idea in the middle of the MCU. So a lot of that – even Namor calling himself a mutant in Wakanda Forever was intentional. We just want to start to build that path.
Marvel absolutely has been building that path through its movies and TV shows. And to their credit, they didn’t immediately throw their newly acquired Fox “toys” into pre-production. There’s a LOT going on in the Marvel Cinematic Universe at the moment, with multiple levels of storytelling needing to play out. Right now, our attention is on the grounded-level heroes, including Captain America (Mackie) and next month’s arrival of Daredevil: Born Again, available with a Disney+ subscription.
Eventually, Marvel will refocus on mutants. Because, as Nate Moore went on to tell CinemaBlend:
Obviously when Disney bought Fox, not to get into business stuff, but we started to have more access to those ideas. So now we can use the X-Men song over Kamala Khan at the end of Ms. Marvel. You can start to, again, just give people glimpses and say, ‘Hey, we know it's coming. Bear with us.’ Obviously with Deadpool and Wolverine, the floodgates got to be open all of a sudden. But that doesn't mean that that's going to be what the X-Men feel like when they do get here. We just want to say that they're coming.
Tell that to Blade fans, who have patiently waited for updates on Mahershala Ali’s version of the daywalker, only to be told over and over that the project is getting delayed. But I see that as a good thing. Whether it’s Blade, the X-Men, Nova, The Black Knight, or other heroes Marvel has teased, I’d prefer that the studio waits until they have the right idea, the right script, and the right collaborators. Marvel fans aren’t going anywhere. Take your time. Lay the foundation. Spread the bread crumbs, as Nate Moore says. And in time, we will all feast!
Captain America: Brave New World opens in theaters on February 13, so make sure you have your tickets in hand.
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