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It’s somehow been almost three years since Marvel confirmed a new era of live-action X-Men adventures, and we’re still months away from seeing the mutant group’s return in full for Avengers: Doomsday. (The first full-length trailer gave us some hints of what’s to come.) With the Russo brothers’ busy helming Avengers: Secret Wars, it seems like a good time to wonder what Kevin Feige & Co. are planning to do with these beloved characters in the aftermath of these mega-sequels.
Thankfully, Marvel Studios’ big bossman offered up some solid insights into the X-Men’s future while speaking with journalists during a press event in Shanghai, China (via Weibo). He first talked about the state of things between Endgame’s release and Doomsday, while also speaking to the idea that the O.G. X-Men films were as much an organic starting point for the next couple of upcoming Marvel movies, even if that universe will likely get destroyed via incursion.
Avengers 5 and Avengers 6 were largely inspired by the storylines of Marvel Comics' 'Time Runs Out' and 'Secret Wars', so—it's customary—the comics provide significant guidance for the films we're making. Actually, we want to do two things: First, to bring some storylines to a close, those that started long before Iron Man, including the original X-Men characters. Second, to simultaneously set the stage for the future. Avengers: Endgame was truly an end, and since then, we've tried and experimented with many new things. But [Avengers: Doomsday] is a beginning. It will establish a streamlined, simplified, single universe that we can keep up with. Some things will be familiar, but many, many things will be entirely new.
Just hearing the words "streamlined" and "simplified" coming out of Kevin Feige's mouth feel revolutionary, given how convoluted and messy things have gotten in recent years between big-screen features and TV projects streaming via Disney+ subscription. So cue all the sighs of relief on that note.
On a more downbeat note, Feige does use the phrase "bring some storylines to a close" in reference to the mutant clan, which does not bode well for any of the OG actors' characters surviving Doomsday and Secret Wars. If anyone could do it, it'd be Hugh Jackman's Wolverine, but it's possible that he'll be hanging his claws up before the next Phase kicks off.
To that end, Feige talked about the goal of bringing younger audiences into the MCU fandom, and having to look beyond just the most popular X-Men hero to make it happen.
Going back to what we mentioned earlier about attracting young people and connecting with a new generation of audiences, that's exactly what the next universe will be about. And fundamentally, the X-Men will be at its core. Acquiring the X-Men rights isn't just about… for example, Wolverine is an outstanding character, and we were able to team him up with Deadpool, which is great. But the X-Men are far more than just Wolverine, far more than the original team; fundamentally, it's a universe, a multi-stage saga. Much of that is what we're working towards.
I'd much prefer a multi-stage saga than another multiverse saga right now, so that all tracks. Although I do wonder if the plan to skew younger also applies to the aforementioned Deadpool, since Ryan Reynolds only just this week confirmed that Deadpool 4 is in the works. Will that movie feature some kind of passing-of-the-torch between Reynolds' Wade Wilson and someone else? Ehhhh.
Kevin Feige revealed that the latest studio exec meeting centered on planning the next 16 years of potential feature releases, going up to 2042. Which isn't to say that every one of those plans will play out successfully, but just in case anyone things they're sitting around and winging it.
Kevin Feige's Amusingly Simple Take On Fox's X-Men Movies
Though the goal is obviously to give fans something new with the X-Men's arrival in the MCU, Feige certainly isn't ignoring everything that came before, and I can't stop chuckling over his brevity and limited word choices when sharing opinions about Fox's entire X-Men franchise lineup. (Not that he was expected to go on at length with his critiques or anything.) As he put it:
We’re constantly changing, constantly evolving, but having some guidance helps us act more purposefully… especially with X-Men—it’s already had 10 movies, some very, very good, some I think haven’t lived up to expectations—how do we plan the 'mutant saga' in a very grand way?
How hilarious would it have been if Kevin Feige was seen on-camera for local news on premiere night for 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand, and when asked how he liked it, he just said, "I think it hasn't lived up to expectations."
That is such a funny and diplomatic way to make an assessment like, "This was a steaming pile of dogshit." Not that I'm trying to put words in Feige's mouth or anything. Hell, maybe that was one that he really liked. (Hopefully not.) I may nip that phrasing in the future for when Secret Invasion comes up again, assuming anyone ever talks about Secret Invasion again.
As exciting as it is to think about what a future will look like with all-new mutants comprising the X-Men, director Jake Schreier told CinemaBlend how difficult rebooting things for the MCU can be, and a lot of decisions will need to be made. And we'll be here to talk about them all.
Avengers: Doomsday is set to hit theaters on December 18, 2026.
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