While the actors who played the X-Men in 20th Century Fox's take on the team will return in Avengers: Doomsday next December, Marvel Studios is already hard at work on a reboot.
Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier will be at the helm of that, meaning the MCU's mutants are in safe hands. Little to nothing is known about what this new take will look like, though we have heard that Marvel Studios plans to cast lesser-known (cheaper) actors in these iconic roles.
After the Disney/Fox merger, Kevin Feige got his hands on hundreds, if not thousands, of new characters. Narrowing that long list down to just six mutants we'd like to see on the next X-Men team may seem like madness, but we do think this lot should be a major priority in the MCU.
To find out who we're talking about, you just need to hit the "NeXt"/"View List" buttons below...
6. Polaris
Polaris, also known as Lorna Dane, is the daughter of Magneto, one of the most powerful mutants in Marvel lore, making her a half-sister to Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch.
Lorna can manipulate magnetic fields, similar to her father. That grants her powers such as flight, force fields, and, obviously, the ability to control metal objects. Throughout her comic book history, Polaris has struggled with issues such as mental instability, identity crises, and conflicts regarding her parentage.
She's a complex, underrated character, and deserves to be explored on screen. Short of a franchise-shattering reboot after Avengers: Secret Wars, there's no way to include Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver in this movie. As a result, Polaris can fill the void left by Wanda and Pietro Maximoff as Magneto's conflicted child.
5. Pixie
Who? While she's probably the least well-known mutant listed here, Pixie—also known as Megan—made her debut in 2004 and would make for a great rookie addition to a team of far more experienced X-Men.
Yes, familiar faces like Kitty Pryde or Jubilee could fill that void, but we've been there and seen that multiple times. Pixie is interesting because, as well as insectoid wings on her back, which grant her the ability to fly, she possesses a magical "soul dagger" that can create teleportation portals.
That would be a useful skill for the MCU's X-Men to utilise. Over the past two decades, the Welsh mutant's unique combination of mutant abilities and magical powers, along with her endearing personality, have made her a fan-favourite character among those who know of her.
4. Juggernaut
Cain Marko is probably best known for being a supervillain, but he has fought alongside the X-Men and ultimately found redemption in their ranks. That's a take we're keen to see in the MCU, and, in terms of pure power, Juggernaut would be an epic addition to this iconic team.
Marko is the stepbrother of Charles Xavier, and his origin is closely tied to the mystical Crimson Gem of Cyttorak (which immediately gives him a link to the wider MCU and Doctor Strange).
After discovering the Gem, Marko gained immense superhuman strength and durability, transforming into the Juggernaut, an unstoppable force capable of smashing through virtually any obstacle in his path. Neither X-Men: The Last Stand nor Deadpool 2 got this villain right, so his redemption on screen is now long overdue.
3. Storm
Marvel Studios' X-Men movie will inevitably feature some familiar faces from the past, and let's be honest, it absolutely should. Among them should be Ororo Munroe, the beloved weather-controlling mutant better known as Storm, who can manipulate the elements.
Born in Kenya, Ororo Munroe is descended from a line of African priestesses with the ability to control the weather. After her parents' death, she spent her childhood as a skilled thief in Cairo before being recruited by Professor X to join the X-Men.
Ultimately establishing herself as an Omega-level mutant—the most powerful classification of mutant—Storm is a heavy-hitter with the potential to change the MCU as we know it. In this reboot, we'd like to see her leading the team alongside Cyclops, with a proper exploration of their rivalry and inter-team dynamics.
2. Emma Frost
Emma Frost, also known as the White Queen, has telepathic abilities, including being able to read minds, and the power to transform her body into a diamond form, which makes her incredibly strong and near-unstoppable.
Initially depicted as a villain, Emma led the Hellfire Club's Inner Circle, a group of powerful and influential mutants. However, she'd eventually join the X-Men, where she became romantically entangled with Cyclops and found a love rival in Jean Grey.
The Cyclops/Jean dynamic is one we've seen explored on screen a great deal (including last year's X-Men '97), so why not explore Emma's dynamic with the team's leader in this reboot? Even if she is introduced as an antagonist, her story could play out over several years and movies.
1. Cyclops
Cursed with the ability to emit powerful optic blasts from his eyes, which he's unable to control without special visors or sunglasses, Scott Summers has never got his due on the big screen.
That has to change in the MCU, and on the page, this founding member of the X-Men is known for his strong leadership skills, tactical brilliance, and unwavering dedication to Professor Charles Xavier's dream of peaceful coexistence between mutants and humans. Well, until he went off the deep end and became more like Magento!
At times, Cyclops' fight for mutantkind has bordered on the extreme, though we'd hold off on heading down that route for a while. For the time being, Scott needs to lead this team and be portrayed as the badass leader we all know and love from the comics.