With the Disney/Fox merger on its way to completion it's only a matter of time before the X-Men join the Marvel Cinematic Universe, right? While nothing official has been announced by Marvel Studios as far as how it will be handling the film rights returning home, the general consensus is that it's a matter of when, not if, the popular mutants get integrated into the existing film continuity. However, Sophie Turner, who plays Jean Grey in the current X-Men film franchise, isn't sure that the X-Men will work in the MCU as it currently exists. She fee;s the characters potentially add complex issues that don't currently exist in the massive franchise. According to Turner...
I don't know. I feel the complexities of the X-Men being shunned by society and segregated is not something that happens in the Avengers universe. Of course, I want to see them crossover but I don't think the themes through X-Men will collaborate well with the Avengers. It'll be very different. If they do it, I'd love to see how it turns out.
While the Marvel Cinematic Universe films haven't completely avoided dealing with serious issues, it's certainly true that the X-Men's entire existence is built around the characters being outcasts within their own universe. The parallels between the X-Men and the racial segregation that was prevalent when the characters were being created was found early and they've been a stand-in for prejudice ever since.
Sophie Turner tells Newsweek that she doesn't see those themes playing well in the MCU, by saying the X-Men will be "very different" she seems to be saying she believes those aspects of the X-Men will be dropped.
It's certainly possible that she's right. The biggest issue may be the fact that, because the X-Men have not been part of the MCU to this point, there's been no indication that mutants exist in the current universe. If the Avengers were dedicated to fighting for justice in a world where an entire class of people was largely ostracized, you'd think it would have come up by now.
The big question is, how does Marvel Studios introduce the X-Men as characters that have apparently been existing for, at the very least, several years. Since the X-Men actors will be, at the very least, teenagers, then mutants have been around for at least as long as they have. Will mutants just be treated like they've always been there but just weren't important until now? It's possible that we might not see the X-Men actually join the MCU for a while so that Marvel can lay some groundwork to fit them into the story in a way that makes sense.
It's also possible that Marvel already has an easy answer to all this that will make everything work, and work quickly. Sophie Turner says she can't wait to see how it turns out, and certainly neither can we.
