We don't know exactly when or where it's going to happen, but the X-Men are coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Marvel Studios regained the rights to the characters thanks to the Disney/Fox merger, and the mutants are now set to join a shared world that's becoming increasingly crowded!
Recently, X-Men: The Animated Series showrunner Eric Lewald was a guest on GWW's "Change My Mind" podcast, and he was asked for his thoughts on the arrival of Cyclops, Jean Grey, Wolverine, and company in the MCU. As it turns out, he too is concerned whether there will be room for these heroes and villains, especially when they're being added to the MCU so late in the day.
"I don’t know how Kevin Feige sleeps at night trying to keep all these balls in the air. But for the X-Men, when people ask me about integrating them in the MCU, I always had the reverse problem. There were too many X-Men and too many villains already in the X-universe and too many connected characters. I found myself cutting half of them out and having stories about three of the X-Men. Just to keep sane and to not have to try to service all of them at once in [an] episode."
"So, the idea of all of the X-Men and all of their villains and all of their support crew then interacting with all of the Avengers, and all of Thors and all - it’s just crazy-making to me," he continued, echoing the thoughts of many fans. "I don’t even want to try to go there."
If anyone can figure this out, it's Kevin Feige, but at the same time, it's hard not to wonder how well the X-Men will actually fit into a world full of all the characters Lewald mentions above.
What do you guys think?
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X-Men characters we need to see in the MCU ASAP!
10. Emma Frost
January Jones didn't receive the warmest of responses for her performance in X-Men: First Class, but the movie did a good job of portraying her powers and the Mad Men star certainly had the right amount of sex appeal for the Hellfire Club’s White Queen. Jean Grey's story has played out multiple times now, so if Cyclops is returning, a new love interest would obviously be no bad thing.
Hopefully, she’ll use an English accent this time, while having her join the X-Men after serving the Hellfire Club is a storyline with a lot of potential (that group definitely needs to be revisited).
There are a lot of different ways Emma can be reinvented for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and her powerful psychic abilities and ability to turn into diamonds would bring a lot to this shared world.
9. Siryn
Played by Shauna Kain, Siryn made a cameo appearance in X2: X-Men United when her damaging sonic scream saw William Stryker’s men forced to take her down with a tranquillizer. She was saved by Colossus (another mutant who made frequent, forgettable cameo appearances before Deadpool), and showed up briefly at the funeral of Professor X in X-Men: The Last Stand.
Given what a limited role she played in Fox's X-Men Universe, it would be easy for Siryn to be overhauled, and she could even take the place of her father, Banshee, in an early iteration of the team.
Perhaps the best use for the character, though, will be using her as a love interest in the next Deadpool movie. Their dynamic is one that definitely deserves to be explored sooner rather than later.
8. Multiple Man
Multiple Man is a great character, something which makes it all the more frustrating that he was squandered in X-Men: The Last Stand (then again, so was every other mutant unfortunate enough to be sandwiched in for a cameo). In that film, he played a very minor role as a member of Magneto’s Brotherhood, but the movie at least gave us an idea of Jamie Madrox's potential.
With the ability to create almost countless duplicates of himself, recent comic books have actually seen some of those doubles take on a life and personality of their own, a dynamic we'd love to see explored. That was likely the plan for the movie James Franco was set to star in before Disney acquired Fox, and an idea Marvel Studios could very easily borrow for the MCU.
If this sets the stage for X-Factor Investigations on Disney+, we would be 100% on board with that.
7. Rogue
This fan-favourite mutant was a focal point of the original X-Men trilogy, but has been sidelined in the years which followed. Considering the fact she's one of the most powerful mutants on the planet, Rogue is a character who needs to be a massive priority for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Rogue's history with Captain Marvel is well-worth exploring, and it would be nice to finally see her romance Gambit (which wasn't even planned for that hero's now cancelled solo movie).
It would be pretty cool to introduce Rogue as an antagonist before she sees the error of her ways, and if Marvel Studios takes a slow burn approach, her story could play out over several years.
6. Lady Deathstrike
Of all the characters listed here, it could be argued that Lady Deathstrike was perhaps handled better than them all. However, the fact that she was little more than Stryker’s mind-controlled pawn meant that she had little to no personality, despite that downright awesome fight scene with Wolverine at the end of X2: X-Men United.
It’s hard to say where Deathstrike could show up; a Wolverine movie is certainly one option, though there’s a risk that will feel like a retread of old ground. The Deadpool franchise could do something fun with her, but having the villain given some much-needed personality as a big bad and having her face off with the X-Men would ultimately be just as good.
Whatever the case may be, this is definitely one villain who shouldn't be overlooked.
5. Juggernaut
Arguably one of the greatest X-Men villains of all time, the Juggernaut was handled in a predictably appalling fashion when he showed up being played by Vinnie Jones. Deadpool 2 made up for that X-Men: The Last Stand appearance to some extent, and rightly portrayed him as a CGI creation.
He had no personality, though, and that's something we'd like to see change in the MCU.
An interesting fact about Cain Marko is that he actually became a member of the X-Men for a time, but ended up leaving when it became apparent that his teammates would never view him as a hero. That could be worth exploring should Marvel decide against heading down the route of using him as a villain. It would certainly be an unexpected, less predictable, decision.
4. Wolverine
Honestly, this should be a given. We know that The Falcon and The Winter Soldier is set to revisit Madripoor, and Marvel Studios can lay the groundwork there for Wolverine by mentioning Patch. That was the persona Logan took on during the time he spent on that fictional island nation.
Regardless of whether that happens, Wolverine should again be a focal point of whatever happens with the X-Men, but hopefully not in a way that completely overshadows them as Hugh Jackman did.
This Wolverine really needs to be the star of his own solo franchise, and like Spider-Man with the Avengers, only make supporting appearances in the core X-Men series of movies in the MCU.
3. Iceman
Say what you will about X-Men: The Last Stand, but it was the first instalment in that franchise which portrayed Iceman in a way that comic book fans recognised when he fully "iced up."
In recent years, comic books have seen Iceman use his abilities in inventive new ways, growing to the size of a skyscraper and basically being portrayed as one of the most powerful mutants in existence. That's something Marvel Studios can explore with the hero, differentiating him from what's come before.
As a founding member of the X-Men - and an openly gay man these days - there's a lot Bobby Drake can bring to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and we'd like to see him from the start.
2. Deadpool
It's thought that Deadpool 3 is happening at Marvel Studios, but complicating that is the fact the Merc with the Mouth can't really be introduced in the MCU until mutants finally make an appearance.
The casting of actors like J.K. Simmons and Jamie Foxx in the Spider-Man franchise proves that Kevin Feige and company have no issues with bringing back familiar faces as new versions of characters they played before, so the door definitely isn't closed on Ryan Reynolds reprising the role.
Unfortunately, the door may be shut on R-Rated adventures featuring Deadpool. Once Upon a Deadpool proved the franchise can work without F-Bombs and crude humour, though, so we'll see.
1. Sabretooth
Bryan Singer handled Sabretooth very poorly in the first X-Men movie, and while X-Men Origins: Wolverine was pretty terrible, Liev Schreiber’s awesome take on this villain proved he has potential.
Logan could have made great use of the character - instead, they went with "X-24" - but the fact he didn't appear there no doubt makes it more likely he'll show up in the Marvel Cinematic Universe sooner rather than later. Whether it's as a member of Magneto's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants or as the big bad in Wolverine's next solo outing, Sabretooth deserves another chance.
If anyone can get him right on the big screen, though, it's definitely going to be Marvel Studios.