Marvel's band of merry mutants have been known as the X-Men since their inception back in 1963, and the name stuck despite countless female members joining the group over the years. It's become something of a running joke in the comics themselves (Jennifer Lawrence's Mystique even brought it up in the recent Dark Phoenix movie), but there's never really been any serious talk about giving the team a more inclusive name... or has there?
In a resurfaced interview with Nuke The Fridge, Marvel Studios' new president, physical and postproduction, visual effects, and animation production Victoria Alonso made it very clear that she feels the "X-Men" branding has become outdated.
“I don’t know where the future is going," she responded when asked about Disney's acquisition of Fox's assets. "It’s funny that people call it the X-Men, there’s a lot of female superheroes in that X-Men group, so I think it’s outdated.“
Now, it's obviously worth noting that this video interview was conducted back around the time of Captain Marvel's Blu-ray release in 2019, but that doesn't mean internal discussions about the group's MCU debut hadn't already taken place. Plus, now that Alonso has risen to a more prominent position in the studio, she's bound to have a little more sway.
Back in March of this year, a rumor did the rounds which claimed that Marvel Studios was planning to introduce X-Men characters to the MCU in a feature called "The Mutants." We haven't had any solid updates since, but if there was any truth to this report, it would seem to confirm that Kevin Feige and co. feel the same way Alonso does about the X-Men name.
There's a lot of speculation here, of course, but how would you guys feel if the X-Men were rebranded with a more inclusive name for the MCU? Be sure to share your thoughts in the usual place.