MOVIE NEWS – As Marvel Studios pushes forward with its grand plans for the Avengers films that will conclude The Multiverse Saga, fans have been keeping a close eye on the new franchises that the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has introduced. 2025 is set to be a huge year with not just one but two ensemble films—Thunderbolts in May and The Fantastic Four: First Steps in July. Ever since Disney acquired 20th Century Fox, fans have been eagerly awaiting the debut of characters previously off-limits to the MCU, with the X-Men being the biggest prize. Now, a new report seems to confirm that their long-awaited arrival is finally happening.

Speaking with ScreenRant about the future of Marvel’s television projects, Brad Winderbaum, Marvel Studios’ head of TV and streaming, made an unusually direct comment regarding the fate of the X-Men in the MCU. While he had plenty to share about the future seasons of X-Men ’97, he also dropped a crucial update about the franchise’s transition to live-action:

“Anyone can say anything online, and rumors spread like wildfire. Right now, we’re focused on getting X-Men ’97 Season 2 ready—it’s shaping up incredibly well, and the scripts for Season 3 are absolutely insane. That’s been scratching my X-Men itch on the television side. But there is also an X-Men feature film currently in development, and that’s where our attention is for the big screen.”

The X-Men’s MCU Arrival Is Now a Matter of ‘When,’ Not ‘If’

When Disney and Marvel Studios finalized their acquisition of 20th Century Fox in 2019, securing the rights to the Fantastic Four and X-Men was a massive win. It’s taken years just to get Marvel’s First Family back on the big screen with First Steps set to release in July 2025, so it only makes sense that the next major priority would be the X-Men. With the rising popularity of X-Men ’97 and the mutants being slowly reintegrated into comics and other media, it seems that Marvel is carefully preparing mainstream audiences for their inevitable cinematic return.

Fox’s original X-Men trilogy was a defining moment in early 2000s superhero cinema, standing alongside Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man and Christopher Nolan’s Batman as one of the era’s key franchises. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige was involved as a producer on Bryan Singer’s films, so it’s no surprise that these characters hold a special place in the executive’s plans. With various legacy actors from Fox’s X-Men movies making cameo appearances in the MCU—and Hugh Jackman reprising his role as Wolverine in Deadpool & Wolverine—all signs point to the inevitable return of the iconic mutant team.

The fact that Marvel Studios has taken so long to greenlight an X-Men film suggests that they want to get this adaptation absolutely right. The Fox-era X-Men movies had wildly inconsistent quality, and this upcoming reboot has the potential to be one of the MCU’s most pivotal projects—not just with mainline films but also spin-offs and even new television shows. With an X-Men movie now officially in development, the stakes are higher than ever, and all eyes will be on Marvel Studios to see if they can deliver on the immense expectations.

Source: ScreenRant