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In March 2019, following the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney, control of the film rights for the X-Men comic book franchise was transferred to Marvel Studios. Plans to feature the X-Men's mutant race in the MCU were announced in July 2019. By September 2023, Marvel Studios was set to begin meeting with writers for a new X-Men film later that year. Filming is expected to begin in late 2025.
In December 2017, the Walt Disney Company announced plans to acquire 20th Century Fox. At the time, Fox was producing a film franchise based on the Marvel Comics superhero team X-Men, a group of mutant heroes. The film rights for these characters were set to be transferred to Disney's subsidiary Marvel Studios.[1] In September 2018, Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed plans to introduce the X-Men into Marvel Studios' shared universe the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), feeling it "only makes sense for Marvel to be supervised by one entity".[2] The acquisition was completed in March 2019, and development on further Marvel-based films at Fox was put on hold.[3][4]
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige confirmed that mutants would eventually be introduced to the MCU in July 2019 after announcing the franchise's Phase Four slate at San Diego Comic-Con.[5] When asked if his use of the term "mutants" meant the MCU would be avoiding the term "X-Men", Feige clarified that he was using the two terms interchangeably. He added that Marvel Studios' approach to the characters would be different from Fox's franchise.[6] In January 2021, Feige said there were positive discussions taking place about mutants' arrival to the MCU.[7]Patrick Stewart reprised his role as Charles Xavier / Professor X from Fox's X-Men film series in the MCU film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which was released in May 2022. He portrayed a different version of the character from Earth-838, an alternate universe to the main MCU, who is a member of the Illuminati;[8] the role combined elements from the X-Men film series and X-Men: The Animated Series (1992–1997).[9] The series finale of the MCU miniseries Ms. Marvel, "No Normal", was released in July and revealed that the title character, Kamala Khan, has a genetic "mutation".[10] Star Iman Vellani confirmed that Khan was the first mutant in the MCU.[11]Namor is also revealed to be a mutant in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) as he is in the comics.[12][13]
In September 2022, Deadline Hollywood's Justin Kroll said an X-Men film would not be happening for a long time and, outside of a writer being hired, he did not expect any updates such as casting news for some time.[14] In February 2023, Feige revealed that the studio had a plan in place for a more proper introduction of mutants following the mentions with Khan and Namor and said they had been working on "how to do it and when to do it" for years.[13] Shortly after the conclusion of the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike in late September, Marvel Studios was preparing to meet with writers later that year to discuss pitches for a new X-Men film. Kroll felt this would become one of the most sought-after jobs for writers. Marvel was expected to take their time in hiring a writer, and a decision was not expected until early 2024.[15]Michael Lesslie and Rafe Judkins—a supervising producer and writer on the Marvel Television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013–2020)—were among the finalists to write the film by early May 2024,[16] and Lesslie entered negotiations to write the script later that month.[17]
A number of characters and actors from Fox's X-Men films appear in Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), including Hugh Jackman reprising his role as Logan / Wolverine.[18][19] Feige called Deadpool & Wolverine the true start to Marvel Studios' exploration and use of the Fox characters,[20] and said every project after it would be part of the MCU's "Mutant era".[21] Regarding the characters that would be featured in the planned X-Men film, Feige said they would try to emulate what they did for the MCU Spider-Man films by including a mixture of mutants who previously appeared in the Fox X-Men films alongside ones who had not yet been seen in live-action. He was excited to further explore the soap opera elements of the X-Men comic books within the MCU, building off what Marvel Studios had featured in the animated series X-Men '97 (2024–present).[22] Feige said in November 2024 that the story of Avengers: Secret Wars (2027) would lead into a "new age of mutants" and the X-Men being introduced to the MCU.[23]
