The Marvel Cinematic Universe has kept fans interested by constantly expanding, both in theaters and streaming with a Disney+ subscription. And for those us who have spent years watching the Marvel movies in order, one big question looming is exactly when/how the X-Men and mutants overall will factor into the story. And Marvel exec Kevin Feige recently teased how the post-Deadpool 3 MCU is going to focus on X-Men, saying "the mutant era is coming." Let's break it all down.
Deadpool & Wolverine is the most highly anticipated upcoming Marvel movie in years. A big reason for this is Hugh Jackman's return as Wolverine, and the chance to see Jackman and Reynolds' faux feud play out on the big screen. While speaking with The Playlist, Feige spoke about how mutants will factor into the future of the MCU, offering:
The 'after' [Deadpool & Wolverine] is clearly — now that we have characters from the X-Men world, the mutants — we haven't had access to before. So, this is the beginning of that, and every [movie] post-Deadpool & Wolverine will be the Mutant era coming into the MCU.
Well, I'm excited. After years of waiting, the X-Men are seemingly about to take center stage in the shared universe. And according to Feige himself, seemingly every movie is going to factor mutants into the action. That's a big promise, and a thrilling one for X-Men fans.
What we know about Deadpool & Wolverine is limited, but clearly mutants will play a major role. In addition to Wolverine, the trailers for Deadpool 3 revealed a number of returning characters from the X-Men franchise, and smart money says that's just the tip of the iceberg for both the movie and the MCU as a whole.
While it remains to be seen which other characters make up Deadpool 3's cast list, it's exciting that mutants are finally going to take center stage in the shared universe. And with the multiverse in play including Loki's Time Variance Authority, it feels like the forthcoming threequel could have a major impact over the shared universe as a whole. And it sounds like it might influence the use of more mutant stories in future projects.
For legal reasons, characters like Deadpool and The X-Men were noticeably missing from the first few phases of the MCU. But that changed when Disney acquired 20th Century Fox and its properties, finally opening the door for these beloved characters to join the shared universe. Mutants have been teased in moments like Ms. Marvel's finale and The Marvels' credits scene, but the X-Men hasn't been assembled just yet. Although according to Feige, this is happening in a big way.
Deadpool & Wolverine will hit theaters on July 26th. While we wait for its release, check out the 2025 movie release dates.
